


Special Menu

by Milligramme



Series: Don't You Want Me [1]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: "I hate cops" to "I guess I like you now", "I hate everyone" to "You're not too bad for a human being", Adachi is a huge stalker, Iwai has a thing against cops, M/M, Pre-Canon, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-02-08 18:16:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 50,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12870276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milligramme/pseuds/Milligramme
Summary: Tohru Adachi is a simple man with simple needs: All he wants from life is a gun he can keep at home. However, the universe seems to hate him personally, because that happens to be the only thing he can't have.When he discovers Untouchable as part of his job, he is sure that the key to his dream gun lies among those models. There is one small drawback though: the owner, Iwai, hates cops from the bottom of his heart.Thus starts Tohru's quest to make the cold retailer like him.The things he'd do for guns...Note: can be read on its own





	1. Guns are a Dish Best Served Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised a while ago, here is the first chapter of my long AdachIwai story! I'm having a lot of fun with it and I hope you'll like it!  
> Before I start, I'd like to thank my two beta readers, Rawen and Akaicchi.  
> Also, I should warn you: I'm a slow writer, so unless I feel productive, don't expect more than a chapter every two weeks. I will keep updating no matter what though, so don't worry.

It was a little known fact that Tohru Adachi liked guns more than people. Of course, there was no way he was going to admit it to anyone, but this truth was crystal clear in the young police officer’s mind.

Tohru would never forget the first time he got to handle a real gun. It was for his twentieth birthday, at a shooting range in Seoul. The trip was a gift from himself; he had even worked part time to pay for it. He remembered taking the weapon with trembling hands, and he knew in an instant that all the troubles he had to go through to reach this moment had been worth it. He vaguely registered the instructor telling him not to be nervous, and he smiled softly. It was beautiful. The feeling of power that surged inside him as soon as he got to hold it was everything he had hoped for and even more.

The first few shots had been a catastrophe. He didn’t expect much, of course, but even the other newbies seemed to do better than him. As always, he nailed the theory but then failed at practice… He had managed to stop the trembling by then, but no matter how perfectly the weapon seemed to fit in his hands, as if it was made for him, he still couldn’t master it. He managed to hit the target by the fifth bullet though. All in all, he hit it three times, and the instructor told him it was an honorable score for a first time. He had let go of the gun with regret, trying to hold on to it as long as possible. He’d be back soon, he promised silently.

In the end, he spent almost his whole stay at various shooting ranges, sparing only the last few days to go to touristic places, just in case someone asked about his trip.

It had been the best vacation of his life.

In Tohru’s mind, guns were more of a symbol than an actual object. They meant power. They meant control. They were his revenge on talented people. He loved this idea, and his first time holding an actual firearm only confirmed it. It became his motivation to keep studying, and he often found himself reminiscing about his birthday trip whenever he felt his resolution weaken. It would all be worth it once he had his own gun, he thought back then. And in a way, he was right.

.

There were two things Tohru didn’t expect from his life after graduation. One: a police officer’s job was incredibly boring and he couldn’t understand how anyone in their right mind could actually enjoy it. It was full of paperwork on top of paperwork, walking around aimlessly, and giving directions to tourists, which ended up being his special job because he was the only one at the _koban_ who spoke proper English. Two: he could only have his gun during his work hours, and he wasn’t supposed to bring it home.

_Talk about a letdown…_

Of course, the gun helped him get through the days; the endless paperwork, the endless patrols, the endless strings of lost tourists... But what Tohru really wanted was to have one for himself, one that he could keep with him at all times.

He thought everything would get better after his first year, once he was successfully promoted to sergeant, but even that wasn’t enough. Mostly, it meant less interactions with lost tourists and more paperwork. He didn’t know which was worse, but he should have expected it anyway…

_Life was just a long string of disappointments after all. Better accept it before it’s too late…_

To be honest, the last thing Tohru expected was for hope to come from his annoying, self-righteous partner.

Masanobu was one of those people who actually enjoyed being a cop, and in Tohru’s opinion, the man was clearly not in his right mind. After all, he’d been in the field for years and he still believed that justice was a thing. What an idiot…

That day, he came unexpectedly in front of his junior’s desk and announced:

“Come here, rookie, we have a shady business to check.”

Tohru was doing some paperwork inside, happy to stay away from the pouring October rain, and he hated the idea of leaving his state of general dryness for some shop owner that allegedly did something bad. Given his _senpai_ ’s overwhelming enthusiasm, it was probably nothing anyway. He still went, already regretting that decision.

_Not that he had a choice in the first place, of course._

Tohru didn’t know what he expected when Masanobu led him to a small back street near Shibuya’s shopping avenue. Probably some kind of grocery store that was selling drugs or something along those lines. He could have asked, of course, but whenever his _senpai_ had his mind set on something, he tended to ignore everything else, including his junior’s questions.

_To think that he was supposed to look up to that man and learn from him… What a joke._

This time however, it was for the best. Tohru’s complete lack of expectations made his first encounter with Untouchable even more magical.

“An airsoft shop?” he incredulously asked, the words slipping from his mouth before he realized it.

Masanobu turned around, looking at him like he was a complete idiot.

 _It’s your fault for not telling me anything,_ he mentally grumbled.

“Yes, we heard rumors about the owner selling real weapons,” the other replied. “If that bastard thinks he can fool the police, he’s wrong,” he added with a determined look, obviously lost in his own little world of justice already.

He then entered dramatically while Tohru was closing their shared umbrella (because trivial stuff like staying dry didn’t cross Masanobu’s mind when Serving the Law was involved, but he was always happy to take advantage of people who actually thought things through), and he immediately started his usual “Holy Agent of Justice” show.

Oh, how Tohru hated that act… It was embarrassing to no end, but that moron never seemed to realize that. However, as soon as the younger man turned around to follow his _senpai_ inside the shop, he stopped caring about that. And everything else, for that matter.

This place was _beautiful._ Even though Tohru knew none of the guns were real, he felt a little tinge inside him, the same kind from when he had stepped into his first shooting range in Seoul. Strangely enough, it was even stronger than that one time he’d managed to sneak a peak in the academy’s gun room.

Tohru vaguely registered Masanobu arguing with someone, probably the shop owner. There was something about a warrant, probably? Not that he cared. There was a gorgeous model of his own service gun in a corner and he walked toward it immediately, smiling like a child in a toy store.

“Hey, can I see that one?” he couldn’t help but ask, turning to the owner with a grin.

Masanobu turned around to stare at him, his eyes opened wide and his jaw tightly shut in a grotesque expression of rightful fury. It looked like his junior had given him heart attack.

_If only…_

“What do you want with it?” the man behind the counter asked roughly.

It was only then that Tohru realized that he wasn’t a customer here, and that he probably shouldn’t have asked.

“I just want to check something,” he said with an apologetic look.

If he played his cards right, maybe he could make it look like he was being professional all along?

“You don’t have a–“

“Let him see it,” Masanobu interrupted.

The man sighed, but he still complied and got up to open the display case and get the Nambu replica for him. He wasn’t much taller than Tohru, but his presence was still impressive, and the cop somehow felt incredibly small beside him. His eyes quickly went over the gecko tattoo on his neck, before his whole attention went back to the model gun in his hands.

Tohru took it delicately, surprised by how light it felt compared to what he was used to, and he started examining it thoroughly. That was his only chance to get himself out of trouble, and he had to make it count. That would be easy enough though. He knew his own service gun like the back of his hand, so proving that the one in front of him was perfectly harmless would be a breeze.

He started with the obvious and ended up making a whole academic presentation on the differences and how much trouble it would be to modify it and make it more dangerous, surprised himself by how much he knew and wondering why he couldn’t stop talking all of a sudden. Once he was done, Masanobu seemed ready to implode and the owner looked like he hadn’t listened to a single word.

_Nice job, Tohru…_

Still, after what seemed like an eternity, the other cop gave in and sighed:

“I think that settles it. Adachi, we’re leaving.”

Tohru had rarely seen the man looking so down, and it made him happy beyond measure. He turned to the owner with a grin, and the other only sent him a nasty look as he angrily wiped the model before putting in back in the display case. The sergeant gulped, all his enthusiasm suddenly forgotten, and he followed his _senpai_ outside.

_Ungrateful bastard…_

Still, the shop had definitely caught his interest. If he had proved that modifying the models to turn them into real weapons would be hard, it didn’t mean that it would be impossible. Maybe he could come back later as a client and see what he could do…

.

If Tohru didn’t expect to be welcomed as a hero when he came back to Untouchable the day after, he never thought that the owner would be so cold toward him. Sure, the man’s reaction from earlier was pretty bad, even after the cop saved him from his aggressive _senpai_ , but still…

He received a normal welcome when he stepped in (which, in this case, seemed to be an absence of reaction, as if the owner never got the memo on Japanese etiquette in retail), until the man behind the counter stopped reading his magazine to give him a proper look. He put it down immediately and adopted a defensive posture, glaring at him as he asked:

“What are you doing here? Do you have a warrant now?”

 _This is going to be fun…_ Tohru thought, surprised by how easily he was recognized despite his civil clothes. To think that he’d made the effort of changing before coming here for nothing…

_People never recognized him when he was out of his uniform, and the one time it could have been useful, he was identified at a glance. Wonderful…_

Still, the cop decided to lighten the mood and automatically put on his harmless jester mask as he replied with a joyful smile:

“It has nothing to do with it, I’m just here as a customer today!”

He only received a distrusting grunt as a reply, and the man went back to his magazine as he muttered:

“Help yourself then.”

Tohru sighed and started to wonder why he was even here, until his attention shifted to the models on display. As his eyes fell on a very interesting article, all his doubts instantly disappeared. The more he looked at the various airsoft guns in the shop, the more tempting it was to buy them all and live on noodles and cheap cabbage for the rest of his life. Not that it was much different from how he currently lived, but at least he’d have a good reason to do it now…

His enthusiasm fell a little when he asked the retailer a few questions about the models he was the most interested in and was clearly ignored. The man only got up once Tohru made his final choice, silently opening the display case to get what he asked for. The rest of the transaction went in complete silence, and before he left, the sergeant was pretty sure he heard the other grumble:

“Don’t come again.”

 _Well, too bad for you,_ he thought as he walked away. _I’ve already decided that I love this place and I don’t care if you’re going to treat me like shit._

True to his promise, he came back later on. Again and again.

His various attempts to modify his purchases didn’t end up quite as he expected, but he knew he was getting closer. This was going to be tricky, but manageable. He would have his perfect modified gun, eventually.

Of course, even after months of regular visits, the owner—Iwai, as he later learned from another regular—never stopped giving him the cold shoulder. However, Tohru didn’t care. He never cared much for people anyway, so even if Iwai had been the sweetest man on Earth, the sergeant still wouldn’t pay any attention to him. Plus, that guy seemed to be pretty cold with everyone, even his other regulars. He was a bit more open with them, of course, but not by much.

In any case, it was nothing Tohru couldn’t handle.

.

…

That was a lie.

Tohru should have known he was going to snap, sooner or later.

It had been something like four months already, and Iwai’s behavior hadn’t changed a bit. Winter had passed and the weather was slowly becoming warmer, but that change obviously didn’t apply to King Frost behind his damn counter.

What a pain.

Maybe he was starting to care, actually. Tohru had been all nice and polite since the very beginning, he had spent more than his fair share of money in that damn shop, probably enough to feed the (snow)man and his entire family or whatever he had for months, and that still wasn’t enough! What more did fucking Iwa-ice want from him?!

And why did he even bother to come back every time, hoping to see new models and maybe, for once, to hear something other than General Winter sighing loudly at the sight of him? Maybe the other thought that would be enough to make him leave, blowing him away like a snowflake on the North wind…

Well, he’d have to try harder than that.

Before he even knew it, Tohru found himself honing his friendly act, something he had never bothered to do before. He hated people anyway so why would he? However, this was different. He didn’t want to be Mister Iceberg’s friend, he just wanted to make the other treat him normally. And he was determined. This would be a battle of wills, and if his years of relentless studying had taught him something, it was that being stubborn was his main strength.*

Tohru would win the snowman over eventually, and no force on Earth could stop him! Especially not Mister Freeze himself in his little ice fort of a shop!

* * *

*Of course, if being hilarious was considered a strength, it would be that. He also had a knack for nicknames! Unfortunately, society wasn’t ready for his amazing sense of humor.


	2. How to Warm a Frozen Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> In this chapter, Tohru makes a list. Well, lists. But the summary doesn't do this chapter justice (I hope).  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Tohru didn’t believe in instinct. He only believed in thorough research and hard work, and that was exactly how he was planning to face this new challenge. If a normal approach didn’t work on Whatever-his-name-was “Colder than Ice” Iwai, then he’d have to rethink everything and get to know the snowman before devising a new strategy.

Of course, tailing suspects was something he’d learned during his training, although it was a bit rushed. And in any case, he wasn’t planning to properly tail Captain Frost. After all, what kind of creep would do that? He wasn’t that desperate! Also, Tohru didn’t think he’d learn anything valuable from that. However, there was nothing stopping him from observing the shop owner and eavesdropping a little while he was in Untouchable…

Actually, the policeman even started a list in a tiny notebook he had bought for the occasion.

…But only because the last one was almost finished and he had decided a while ago to keep one for professional stuff and one for personal stuff.

There was nothing weird about it.

Anyway…

_List of things I learned from General Snow:_

  * _He keeps the stick in his mouth long after he’s finished the lollipop_
  * _He always buys the same brand, and never eats any other kind of sweets. Cherry seems to be his favorite_
  * _He never stays late and doesn’t hesitate to throw his customers out once it’s time to close shop_
  * _He goes to the back storeroom for his regulars fairly often, especially to retrieve models not displayed in the shop. What exactly makes them so special though?_



Obviously, none of it helped the cop find out how to get closer to the retailer, so after a while he decided to go for something more specific.

_List of people Icy-wai seems to be nicer with:_

  * _People who don’t bother him more than necessary_
  * _People who don’t waste too much time looking around and know what they’re looking for_
  * _People who know model guns_
  * _People who aren’t overly friendly_
  * _People who spend a lot_



So basically … people like Tohru. And yet, that clearly wasn’t enough.

  * _People who aren’t cops, apparently_



he added bitterly soon after.

The more he looked into it, the more frustrated he was. Of course, he just had to find new elements to add to his list. That was what he believed for a short while. Unfortunately for him, his field research was cut short about a week after it started. Apparently, being colder than frozen nitrogen gave the retailer a sixth sense or special powers, because Tohru got caught staring with his notebook in hand while the snowman was looking away.

“What are you looking at?” Lord of the Floe asked, turning around to send him a nasty glare.

“Just the model behind you,” Tohru replied hastily.

He then noticed that the other was gazing at his notebook and he added with an apologetic smile:

“I remembered an important thing to add to my groceries list when I saw this model.”

Icy didn’t seem convinced, but he still shrugged and went back to what he was doing. Tohru didn’t have the heart to keep observing after that, but he took good note of that new fact.

_List of things I learned from General Snow:_

  * _He keeps the stick in his mouth long after he’s finished the lollipop_
  * _He always buys the same brand, and never eats any other kind of sweets. Cherry seems to be his favorite_
  * _He never stays late and doesn’t hesitate to throw his customers out once it’s time to close shop_
  * _He goes to the back storeroom for his regulars fairly often, especially to retrieve models not displayed in the shop. What exactly makes them so special though?_
  * _He has eyes behind his head!!!_



If anything, that episode made it clear that the other was still on guard around him. Was Tohru’s job as a policeman such an irredeemable crime? Did that mean that no matter what he did, he would forever be given the cold shoulder?

Now that he thought about it, it was quite suspicious. Had it only been the circumstances of their first encounter, Mr. Icicle would have dropped the act already. After all, the cop had given him no other reason to dislike him, and he’d already done a lot to earn his trust.

Why would the shop owner hate the police so bad? It wasn’t like they were constantly breathing down his neck, and Tohru had done plenty to show him that this wasn’t his intention either. Surely, there was something fishy here.

_And there was the gecko tattoo he’d seen on the first day… He’d had several occasions to take a good look at it ever since. Why didn’t he pay more attention to it?_

Tohru froze at the thought.* Of course, with the shifting trends and globalization, more and more people were getting tattoos. But combined to Sir Liquid Nitrogen’s general wariness of cops…

He had to check on it. After all, he had the means to. Plus, he could use his current increase of free time and his previous encounter with the snowman as an excuse to dig up stuff on him, if his colleagues were ever curious about his sudden interest in that guy. It was worth a try.

.

Looking back on it, Tohru may have been a bit _too_ cautious when he got ready to check if there was a file on the Untouchable Ice Wall in the police archives. He was prepared to be asked for at least a password, and he had no less than five excuses ready, in case he had to ask people about it. He also had three backup plans if all else failed, and he was extra cautious to make up things that wouldn’t put his favorite icicle in trouble. After all, the last thing the cop wanted was for the retailer to hate him even more.

It turned out that Tohru’s current privileges as a sergeant were more than enough to give him access to the file.

_That was almost disappointing. He had been ready for at least some kind of thrill and that was all he got… When would this shitty job stop letting him down?_

As if the world was trying to prove him wrong, what he found in the file was far from disappointing.

_So he was right, the snowman had ties with the yakuza!_

Tohru felt ecstatic at his discovery for a second. His inner child, the one who only read manga about the underworld, whispered with starry eyes that it was awesome. His current, more ~~bitter~~ realistic self, reminded that no, it really wasn’t.

In any case, it seemed that Yaku-hisa had left his clan a few years ago, although it was never explained why. Actually, there was almost nothing interesting in this file except for the confirmation of his doubts, and the retailer’s first name (which had the advantage of opening a whole new world of nicknames to the cop).

_Yet again, disappointed…_

Still, that explained a lot about the snowman’s behavior toward him! Old habits die hard after all…

_Okay so I finally have my explanation,_ he thought. _… Now what?_

What was he supposed to do? Tell him “I know you’re wary of me because of your shady past but I don’t care about it!”? Wouldn’t that make him even more suspicious?

Wait.

Did Masanobu know about it when he decided to check on Snowai’s shop? Maybe Tohru should have paid more attention back then.

Knowing the man, it wasn’t entirely impossible that he had no idea who Lord Black Frost really was, and simply jumped on the occasion to “do the Right Thing”. His _senpai_ was allergic to paperwork after all, and even something as simple as checking a file seemed to be too much for him. Sometimes, Tohru wondered if that guy even knew how to read…

_Not that it would be surprising. After all, that idiot always bragged about how he joined the police right after high school, as if his lack of education was something to be proud of. What a moron._

So in the end, even though the cop could now add “ex-yakuza” on his precious list of things he knew about Munehi-snow I-white, it didn’t bring him closer to finding out how to make the other less cold toward him.

_Back to step one. Why did he expect something different?_

.

When he got home after that informative yet useless research session on Iwai’s file (“Iwai’ce file”? nah, that one was bad), Tohru felt more discouraged than ever. He had really hoped that he would find something helpful, but even though he had thought about it all afternoon, he still had no idea how he could use this new piece of information to reach his goal.

He spent his evening emptying a few cans of cheap beer, looking back on his notes, half hoping for a revelation that would suddenly give them a new meaning he had overlooked before.

_List of things I learned from General Snow:_

  * _He keeps the stick in his mouth long after he’s finished the lollipop_



What was Tohru supposed to do with that?! Why did he even put it down on paper?

  * _He always buys the same brand, and never eats any other kind of sweets. Cherry seems to be his favorite_



That was all nice and well, but there was no way Permafrost of the Frozen Tundra could be bribed with candies. If anything, that would only make him more suspicious of the cop.

  * _He never stays late and doesn’t hesitate to throw his customers out once it’s time to close shop_



This one was a lot better! This was something he could investigate… But that would mean being a step closer to becoming an actual stalker. Was he really ready for that? Not quite yet. Soon though, he’d probably feel desperate enough for that. He’d spent too much time and resources on it to step back now, right?

But for now, he needed his revelation! There was always time to turn into a creep later.

_Focus, Tohru, focus!_

  * _He goes to the back storeroom for his regulars fairly often, especially to retrieve models not displayed in the shop. What exactly makes them so special though?_



Well that one was interesting for sure! The policeman was really curious to see what the snowman was doing in there, and what kind of special treatment his best customers received. But for that, he had to become one of them. Which was exactly what he’d been trying (and failing) to do for weeks!

  * _He has eyes behind his head!!!_



No wonder he did! From what the sergeant had seen and what his older colleagues told him, yakuza had a sixth sense when it came to cops. Obviously, Mafia-hisa Yakuz-iwai’s senses were still as sharp as ever.

Why did the snowman even leave anyway? And more importantly, how did he do it while keeping all of his fingers intact? Yet another mystery… And Tohru wasn’t closer to an answer.

_That was why the world was shit. He hated it and everything in there!_

Anyway, he’d better check his other list. Maybe there was something more interesting in this one! After all, he had never taken time to really look into it. There might have been a hidden link that he had overlooked, who knew?

_List of people Icy-wai seems to be nicer with:_

  * _People who don’t bother him more than necessary_



Well sure, but what did “more than necessary” mean exactly? What were examples of times when Chilly-wai accepted a conversation gladly?

Okay, new list. Good thing Tohru had taken notes about some of the conversations Samui-sa Cold as Iwa-ice had with his customers. He even thought of adding little plus and minus signs to show the retailer’s mood! He was such a genius sometimes!

_List of times Chilly-wai accepted a conversation gladly:_

  * _When that guy asked him a very interesting question about one of his models’ features_
  * _When that other guy told him about a tiny improvement he made on one of the models he bought here and wondered how he could make it even better_
  * _When a customer suggested a model to order and discussed the brand’s strengths and weaknesses in great details_



So despite everything, the Aquarius Gold Saint did enjoy a nice conversation about model guns and how to improve them. However, there seemed to be specific conditions to fill, because Tohru remembered clearly one time when a customer had talked about how he tweaked a gun, only to be treated even more coldly than the policeman himself (which was an incredible feat). The man was clearly bragging though, and he added nothing interesting to the conversation.

Maybe Tohru could do something about it… If he got more into ~~useless~~ harmless airsoft gun modification and discussed it with the snowman, maybe he could prove him how serious he was as a customer, and hence get closer to him.

But back to the main list:

  * _People who don’t waste too much time looking around and know what they’re looking for_



That one was a bit trickier, but since Tohru knew the shop so well now, he already had that one nailed.

  * _People who know model guns_



Same here. But he could go even further, which brought him back to his earlier conclusion.

  * _People who aren’t overly friendly_



Looking back on his notes, every time a customer had tried to ask personal questions, the interaction was written with lots of little minus signs. Of course, the guy’ce past could explain that pretty well (actually, after his fourth beer, that one wasn’t so bad). Tohru never did it before, but he’d have to remember never to make that mistake if he wanted to stay on the retailer’s good side.

  * _People who spend a lot_



There was no way he could spend more than he already did. He was on a tight budget after all.

  * _People who aren’t cops, apparently_



Tohru smiled at that point. If he followed his new plan, that would soon stop being an issue.

He had his solution now, and he couldn’t believe it was that simple.

All he had to do now was to start intensive researches on ~~useless~~ harmless model gun modification and become Chilly Willy’s ideal gun nerd customer. He could also improve his current persona, maybe go for something that highlighted the “I’m perfectly harmless and more or less incompetent as a cop, I wouldn’t get a hint if it hit me in the face” vibe while also saying “I know what I’m doing when it comes to airsoft guns, although I’m still humble about it”.

Alone in his tiny flat, Tohru started laughing ominously.

Iwai’ce** frozen heart would soon be his!

… But in a platonic way, of course!

* * *

 *No pun intended. But that was still a good one.

** Really, after five and a half beers, that was the funniest thing ever!


	3. Inside the Ice Fortress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays everyone!  
> To celebrate, I have unlocked Iwai's POV in this chapter. We are now (partially) free from Tohru's head, yay!  
> I hope I did well, my mental representation of Mune is not as precise as Tohru (also, they evolve so much throughout the story, it's weird to re-read the first chapters now...).  
> Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think!

_“Look, I’ve been a customer here for months, I’ve spent more than my fair share of money, and if I wanted to build a case against you, I would have done that ages ago. When will you finally start treating me decently? What more do you want?!”_

The cop’s eyes were beaming with anger that day. It was hard to think that it was the same person who was currently engaged in a joyful banter with two of Untouchable’s regulars.

_“If you’re not satisfied with my services, you can always find another shop,”_ the retailer had replied evenly, meeting the officer’s fiery glare with an icy one.

The policeman had grabbed his newly bought stuff and left without a word. Despite all his efforts to look nonchalant, it was easy to see that he was fuming, and Mune was sure that it would be the last he’d see of the guy.

He was wrong.

The retailer had no idea what got into the fuzz, but he kept coming back after this event, even more often than he used to. Mune had no idea what that moron was trying to achieve, but it seemed that he was determined to … become more likable?

What kind of idiot was he? If he was trying to fool the shop owner into letting his guard down, that wasn’t going to work. As if he’d ever trust a cop.

.

Mune could complain about the annoying policeman all he wanted, he had to admit that his persistence was kind of intriguing. He still didn’t understand why the other hadn’t left already, given the rough treatment he received from him, but the retailer still found the cop’s stubbornness impressive.

Of course, after the shop owner noticed how the fuzz observed him when he thought he wasn’t looking, Mune’s wariness reached a critical level, but even that was starting to melt. Apparently, all of that moron’s thorough research was for the sake of pleasing him, and even the retailer’s most passionate clients never put that level of dedication in getting on his good side, even for an improvement in his special menu. Seeing that Adachi guy going so far only to be treated normally made him wonder how much further the fuzz would be willing to go if he knew about the secret items available only to Untouchable’s best customers.

Not that he’d ever give a cop access to the special menu, obviously. He knew he had started to grow softer ever since he left the Hashiba-gumi to take care of Kaoru, but he certainly wasn’t going to grow _that_ soft. That was a limit he wasn’t going to cross.

Also, he wasn’t planning to be nicer to the police moron currently in front of him either. The earlier that guy gave up and left his shop never to return, the better. Try as he might, this little act certainly wasn’t going to work on him!

.

Did Mune just have an hour-long conversation with the police-customer about the best way to increase the load of a semi-automatic airsoft gun? His heart was saying “no way!” but his clock was saying “yes, obviously”…

One thing was for sure: the man had done his homework. When did he even learn all of that? Mune was certain that the other didn’t know that much until recently. Didn’t he have better things to do with his free time?

Well, that would apply to all of his best customers, actually. But none of them had such an impressive learning curve; he would remember that.

Still, that wasn’t a reason to warm up to him! That could still be a ruse after all. And even if it wasn’t, the retailer would be damned if he accepted a damn fuzz as one of his regulars! He still had principles, dammit!

No matter what, Adachi’s strategy wasn’t going to work. It was a battle of wills, and Mune certainly wasn’t going to lose.

Still, he forgot to tell him not to come back this time…

.

“Iwai-san, I have a question about this model. Can you help me?”

Mune sighed loudly at the overly cheerful voice of the cop moron. He hated that stupid façade even more than the person it belonged to.

_Try all you might, I know what hides behind that harmless mask,_ he thought, remembering the deadly glare from the one time the fuzz had dropped his façade.

The retailer was ready to ignore him, as usual, but as he was going back to his magazine, he noticed the surprised look of one of his regulars. The man then looked at Adachi, then back at him, and Mune noticed that he obviously wanted to say something, but didn’t dare to. The shop owner sighed. He could still ignore the cop’s question, but it seemed that his behavior was puzzling some of the customers he was actually trying to keep. Maybe he could make an exception, just this once. It wasn’t like he had better things to do at the moment.

Obviously, he’d go back to ignoring him as soon as an opportunity arose.

“Sure, I’m coming,” he said as he got up, regretting his decision already.

Given the cop’s startled look, he never thought it would work. However, there was something like a naïve joy in his expression. It reminded Mune of Kaoru’s look when he offered to buy the kid some shaved ice in summer.

“So, what do you want?” he asked.

The other seemed lost for a second, but he quickly regained his senses and explained:

“I checked this model’s specs and I notice that they’re not as good as the ones from that Southern Star model over there, yet it’s still more expensive. Why is that?”

“Oh, the difference in price can’t be justified by the specs alone. This one is generally more robust, and the technology is top notch.”

“Isn’t it older though?”

“Not by much. That being said, this one is harder to upgrade. It wasn’t designed for that, so it doesn’t take most upgrades as well as some other models. It’s probably not a wise investment for people who enjoy customizing their weapons.”

“Oh, so maybe it’s not the right one for me…” Adachi remarked. “I wanted to see if I could tweak the barrel the way you mentioned last time.”

“Hmm… Then I might have something more suited for your needs over there, if you like,” Mune offered.

The other nodded and the retailer started moving toward the model when another customer asked:

“Sir, can you help me with something?”

“Sure, just wait until I’m done here,” he replied without thinking.

Tohru couldn’t believe his ears. First, Iwai stopped ignoring him and answered his questions normally, and now he was making another customer wait to take care of him? When exactly did he die and go to heaven?

Well… Of course the sergeant was expecting it! That was his plan all along, after all. Still, he never thought it would work so well!

He followed the retailer to another model that was slightly less expensive, but as Iwai explained, it had a similar robustness and it was just what he was looking for if he wanted to improve some parts.

He listened to the man’s words religiously, unable to repress as childish smile. It felt so good to be treated normally for once…

_Maybe the world wasn’t so bad after all._

.

Mune shouldn’t have started serving that stupid cop in the first place. He was slowly getting used to it, and he hated that.

However, his other regulars were starting to give him weird looks whenever he tried to ignore the fuzz, and he couldn’t just look the other way. He could afford to have one good customer resent him, but not all of them at the same time. The shop owner didn’t know if that was part of Adachi’s plan to be better treated or not, but that sure was working. The others now seemed to consider him one of their own, and if Mune kept putting distance between him and his annoying customer, his group of regulars would certainly start asking questions.

Sure, he could just tell them about the man’s job. Given the content of his special menu and although even his best models weren’t dangerous as is, that would be enough of an explanation for them.

However, he couldn’t just mention it in a normal conversation. He always made a point never to share personal information about anyone, especially himself. “That will be ¥5,000 and also did you know that Adachi-san was a cop?” was the sort of stuff the rumormongers from the bookshop nearby would say. But he wasn’t that pathetic, and there was no way he’d say that out of the blue.

That meant that he’d have to wait for an opportunity. Maybe if he tried being cold again, someone would ask a question? And then, it’d only be natural that he explained the situation, right? That would be enough to isolate the cop from the group again, and maybe even to drive him away from Mune’s shop once and for all.

.

Seriously, what was Captain Icy-pants’ problem this time? Everything was going so well, and now the snowman was suddenly starting to act all cold again for no reason!

Sure, it was easier for Tohru to break the ice now that he knew how to make him react, and their conversations were getting longer every time, as if the other was forgetting whom he was talking to when he was interested in the topic. However, it seemed strange that after a few days of giving him an immediate reply, Chill-wai would start ignoring him again.

Thankfully, the other regulars seemed to side with the sergeant. They asked him once why the shop owner was so cold toward him, and he avoided the question by saying something along the lines of:

“No idea. Maybe I look like a bad payer or something, hehe!”

The others had laughed with him and never asked again, which was perfect. He wasn’t planning to tell them the truth about Iwai the Cold’s real reason to hate him, since he didn’t want to put him in trouble. They would certainly have started asking annoying questions like “But why would Iwai hate cops?” or something, and that would have been a pain.

Tohru never expected these people to be of any help (he never expected people to be of any help in general), but they were currently his greatest allies in his siege of the Untouchable Ice Fortress, and thanks to them, victory seemed closer than ever.

_Until now, that was._

Did Tohru do something wrong? Was King Iwai Frozenheart trying to achieve something? Was he just putting him through one last battle before giving up entirely?

The cop had no idea, but whatever it was, he wasn’t planning to let his efforts go to waste. Especially now that he knew exactly how to grab the other’s attention and keep it!

.

No one seemed to dare asking Mune questions about the damn fuzz. And for some reason, he found himself serving the guy with less reluctance than before.

Dammit!

It seemed that his policy of replying coldly to any attempt at personal question was backfiring on him.

It meant that he now had no more reason to act coldly toward the fuzz, except to protect himself from finding Damn-dachi sympathetic.

_Where did that stupid nickname even come from? What was he, six? Even Kaoru was already more mature than that!_

_But the kid had always been too mature for his age anyway._

Maybe he should just start treating the guy like any other client (while still being a bit colder because there was no way he’d ever just accept a cop in his shop). As long as he kept his guard up, it should be fine.

.

Tohru was making steady progress. He had no idea what was happening in Brainfreeze’s ~~brain~~ mind, but as long as it went his way, he didn’t care. The melting snowman was treating him like a normal customer again, and it was all that mattered.

It had been a whole two weeks since the retailer’s last spring frost, and the policeman was now ready for the little experiment he had planned to try for a while: if he could manage to make Iwai close his shop later than usual, a feat that apparently none of his other regulars had ever managed to achieve, he’d consider his assault on the Ice Fortress a success.

Tohru had failed his first attempt because he came too late and Iwai ignored his question and told him he’d have to leave soon instead. His second attempt was a close one, but it didn’t work either, because he let a pause last too long, which gave the shop owner time to check his clock and see it was almost closing time.

His third attempt would be the last.

Tohru had everything planned. He was going to start a conversation with Iwai about half an hour before closing time. The key was to make sure the other didn’t notice that it was time to close shop. His victory would be pointless if the owner stayed only because he felt compelled to. It wouldn’t happen anyway, because no matter what, that man never felt compelled to anything when it came to closing shop on time. Why though? Sure, said time was pretty late, especially for a store of this kind, but that was still surprising.

Anyway, that didn’t matter at the moment, and it really wasn’t time to focus on personal stuff, AKA the thing Iwai hated the most besides cops and bragging customers. Tohru was currently in Untouchable, looking at models and reviewing his backup conversation topics, in case of an unexpected blank. He couldn’t let Iwai look at the time and ruin his efforts again!

The last customer beside himself left the shop.

Tohru was ready now.

It was time.

“Iwai-san, where’s the model you showed me last time? Did someone buy it already?”

Mune looked up as he heard the question, sighing by habit when he recognized the voice of the one who asked it. Of course it was Adachi…

He checked the clock quickly and decided that he could easily settle the matter in less than half an hour (less than thirty seconds, really, but his conversations with this customer tended to last a lot longer than they should these days).

“Which one? If you’re talking about the Kyoto Kakui handgun yes, someone bought it,” he replied without moving from his spot behind the counter. He paused for a moment before adding: “I can order a new one for you though, if you want it.”

Tohru was a bit impressed. He hadn’t planned for the retailer to remember which model he was talking about exactly. Now, he either had to find another approach to make Iwai move from his spot, since it apparently made him more talkative, or buy something and make sure to start a conversation then.

Even better, he could …

“You’d do that? Thanks!” Tohru replied with a joyful smile.

“It’s no big deal,” the other man huffed. “Just wait a sec and I’ll place the order.”

The sergeant moved to the counter while Iwai focused on his computer, and he watched him work on it silently.

“Done,” the retailer announced soon after. “It should arrive in a few days.”

Adachi thanked him and for a second, Mune thought this was over and he’d maybe be able to close shop a bit earlier that day. He changed his mind when the other declared:

“That’s a shame though, I have a bit of free time this evening and I was looking forward to work on a new project…”

Tohru mentally crossed his fingers as he said that. It was his best bait and if Iwai didn’t react to that, it would be harder for him to—

“How about the other one? Are you finally satisfied with the Emu Army Colt model?”

_Yes!_

Tohru mentally high fived himself as he replied:

“Kind of. Working on the barrel was easy enough, but then I decided to increase the fire rate as well, and that was a hassle.”

Mune sighed inwardly. This was going to be long, once again. But at the same time, few clients were as bold and creative as this one, and he had really good ideas sometimes.

And others, he just ruined the model and had to buy another one because he went a bit too far.

Mune couldn’t blame him, however. It happened to him too, when he started really having fun working on model guns.

Anyway, even if Adachi left now, he wasn’t going to close shop for another fifteen minutes or so. Indulging in a bit of conversation couldn’t hurt, right?

“You didn’t tell me about that. How did it go?”

_Perfect, perfect, PERFECT!_

_The fish took the bait. I repeat, the fish took the bait!_

Tohru couldn’t be happier. However, it was a bit too early to declare victory, he reminded himself. There was still a long while before closing time, and he had to keep this conversation going by all means!

The sergeant started explaining what he did exactly and the problems he encountered, asking a few questions about what he could have done better and listening carefully to the replies to make sure he didn’t miss an opportunity to bounce back.

_That was a lot like an oral exam, in a way. The key was to remember everything he could use, and anticipate the possible questions and developments. He could do that. It only took proper preparation, and he couldn’t be more ready._

Tohru stumbled on a reply after a while. He quickly managed to shoot another question, but this conversation was soon going to die if Iwai wasn’t more cooperative. It seemed that the man could feel that it was time to close shop and was more or less trying to put the interaction to an end. Neither of them could check on the time at the moment, but the sergeant wasn’t going to risk failing because he wrongly thought it was late enough to drop it. He had to keep this conversation going a little more… Make this moment last as long as possible, even if it was just a few seconds…

“Well, I think the only thing left for you to do now is to try it yourself. I don’t think I can help you more,” the retailer concluded soon after.

For some reason, Adachi flinched as Mune said that. Now that he thought about it, he could feel that behind his usual easy-going attitude, the cop was quite tense. Why was that?

More importantly, what time was it?

Mune glanced at the clock, ignoring the other’s desperate look, and cursed.

It was fifteen minutes past his usual closing time. He was late, and he had promised Kaoru to finish their book tonight. If he didn’t hurry, it would be past bedtime!

Also, it wasn’t polite to make the girl looking after him wait.

He turned back to his customer, noticing with some surprise that he seemed a lot happier than a second before, and announced:

“It’s a lot later than I thought. I have to close shop now, we’ll talk about that another time.”

_He did it! HE DID IT!_

Tohru interrupted his inner party for a second to reply:

“I understand. Thank you for the advice, and sorry for keeping you. Bye!”

He then left the shop, refraining himself from starting a victory dance.

_Fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes,_ he sung in his head, feeling so ecstatic that he could have waltzed all the way home.

Tohru had succeeded where all the other regulars had failed! He had managed to captivate Iwai enough to make him forget about the time!

_He was amazing! He was invincible! He could take on the entire world!_

It took him until he reached his flat to calm down a bit. He even stopped on the way to buy fancy sushi. Once he had closed the door behind him and taken off his shoes, he walked straight to the fridge to take out the good sake he had kept for celebration, joyfully starting his little feast.

The Untouchable Ice Fortress was taken. Mission complete!


	4. How to Reheat a Frozen Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone!  
> As you may have noticed, I can now tell how many chapters this story will be, because I'm done writing it! I really wanted to finish it before the New Year and I'm glad I did it! That being said, I still have to edit the next chapters, which takes me forever... But at least you can be sure that I won't give up halfway, and I'll remain stable in my publication rhythm.
> 
> In today's chapter, Iwai is stubborn, and Tohru is even more stubborn. He also tries a...creative...new approach.  
> Enjoy!

Mune should have never trusted that damn cop!

He’d started acting normally around him and look what it led to: now Adachi wanted to know more about his special menu, as if he had any right to it. The retailer didn’t know which of his regulars told him about it, but they deserved to lose their privileges forever.

To think that just a few weeks ago, when his conflicted relationship with the fuzz was stabilizing, Mune even went as far as to save the guy’s reputation…

_Why did he even do that?_

He remembered the scene all too well. Adachi was deep in a conversation with Dan, another regular (who was doing most of the talking, since obviously his counterpart wasn’t too talkative unless he was speaking to the shop owner himself), when Chiba, one of his most passionate clients, arrived and told them about an airsoft event planned three weeks from then. Apparently, her team lacked members and she needed reinforcements.

Dan accepted immediately, since he was really into the competitive aspect of airsoft, while Adachi was clearly trying to disappear in a corner. Given his skinny frame, it was obvious that he loved airsoft only for the nerdy modifications aspect. Mune couldn’t blame him though, it was more or less the same for him. He liked airsoft enough, otherwise he’d have chosen another line of business, but he’d rather die than take part in such an event. Handling the models and finding ways to improve them was enough for him.

Of course, Adachi’s attempt to leave failed completely. Chiba wasn’t one to let potential airsoft partners run away so easily.

“Adachi-san, you’re free on that weekend too, right?” she asked with her usual, confident grin.

“In three weeks?” her victim flinched. “Uh… I can’t, actually. I have to work.”

“Come on, can’t a coworker take your place just this once?”

“Haha, I wish,” Adachi replied with a bitter smile. “But most of them have kids already, and I’m one of the youngest there anyway, so…”

“Oh, that’s too bad…” Dan commented with a sorry look.

“What kind of job is it anyway? I can’t imagine how you’re still the youngest _and_ you have to work during weekends.”

The cop let out a nervous laugh, obviously embarrassed to tell them the truth about his occupation. He wasn’t entirely stupid, apparently. Too bad for the retailer…

“It’s… Hum…”

Now was Mune’s chance. Adachi was apparently reluctant to lie, and the retailer knew all too well that both Chiba and Dan were curious as cats; and very talkative, too. If the other didn’t find a way out of this one, his whole customer-base would soon know the truth, and the shop owner would finally get rid of that stupid fuzz.

So why, oh why, did Mune have to get involved?

“Leave the poor gun nerd alone, he’s never going to survive an actual match,” he intervened before he could register what he was doing.

Adachi’s grateful yet hurt expression was a sight to behold, and the retailer had to repress an amused smile at that. He didn’t have to say anything after that remark, because Dan commented:

“It’s true that you don’t look like you go out often, Adachi-san. Your skin is so pale!”

“That would be a perfect occasion to change that!” Chiba countered. “The weather forecast is really in our favor, and it would be a shame to miss one of our last chances to enjoy airsoft before the raining season starts.”

“It’s still in a while,” Dan remarked.

“But there aren’t many opportunities either!” the woman exclaimed dramatically. “So you should really come now, Adachi-san.”

“It’s fine, I’d probably drag you down anyway,” her victim replied with an apologetic smile.

“Don’t say that, airsoft is about having fun! Right, Dan-san?” Chiba said, turning to her new airsoft partner.

“But victory is important as well!” Dan countered.

“I hope you don’t get too carried away then,” she declared. “This is for people of all levels, and I finally managed to convince my boyfriend to try it.”

“I still can’t believe a tomboy like you has a boyfriend…” the man sighed.

“You’re just jealous because you can’t find a girl!” she teased.

“That’s wrong! I’ll have you know that I’m currently seeing someone!”

“Why don’t you bring her then?” Chiba asked with an excited grin.

“It’s too early, I don’t want to… I mean, this is a niche hobby, it’s not like I’m into a martial art or baseball, you know,” Dan said with an unsure expression.

He seemed to think for a second and before the woman could reply anything, he exclaimed:

“Hey! If we can’t count on Adachi-san, why don’t you ask Endo? I’m sure he’ll be up for it.”

“Oh, good idea!” Chiba agreed excitedly. “But don’t think I’m giving up on your case though. I want to know more about that girl,” she added with a sly look.

“Whatever you want,” he sighed.

“Oh, and Adachi-san? Tell me if your weekend is free after all. The more, the merrier! It’s going to be fun, and I’m sure you’d love to use your airsoft guns in real situations! Although you won’t be able to try the modified ones here, since it’s also for newbies. I’ll tell you next time an opportunity arises!” Chiba concluded with a bright smile.

“Sure,” Adachi replied with a weak one.

No one asked about his job after that, and if anything, it had only contributed to integrate the fuzz even more to his regulars’ circle, even though it was obvious that the guy would never agree to participate in an airsoft match.

Mune had missed his only chance to make the cop leave, and it was entirely his fault. Dammit!

Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t unlikely that Chiba was the one who told Adachi about the special menu… She was a friendly and trusting person, so it would be like her to mention it. After all, she probably thought that the other already knew about it.

Anyway, he had no proof, and it was too late to think about this issue. If he had kept his mouth shut back then, it wouldn’t have happened anyway.

.

Tohru knew he asked that a lot but: seriously, what the hell was Aquarius Iwai’s problem this time?! Everything was going so well between them, so why was he back to step one all of a sudden? And what made that so called special menu so special in the snowman’s mind that it would ruin all of the cop’s progress with him in an instant?

The sergeant wasn’t even exaggerating, he could pinpoint the exact second when Iwai’s behavior switched back from ‘kind of warm’ to ‘freezing’. It was between the moment the cop started pronouncing “special” and finished saying “menu”. There, right between these two simple words, the retailer had rebuilt his impregnable ice walls, thicker than ever. Actually, Tohru could have sworn that he’d felt the temperature of the room drop as he said that.

It was all the more surprising that, the way Endo explained it to him, it wasn’t such a big deal. Sure, the guns were better quality and modified to work wonders, but it didn’t sound like anything illegal! Still, the sergeant was convinced that those special models were the key to his perfect, real bullet shooting weapon.

However, even if they were, it didn’t mean that he could arrest the guy or put him in trouble for it, even if he really wanted to! And in any case, it wasn’t his intention in the least! Why would he ruin his only chance to make his childhood dream come true? Plus, Iwai was one of the few people Tohru didn’t dislike entirely, so he wasn’t planning to lose him on top of the modified guns. But how could he make the retailer understand that without revealing his true intentions?

Ever since that fateful day, everything the cop did to regain at least a normal relationship with the snowman failed. The other ignored his attempts to start a conversation, dismissed all of his suggestions, barely replied to his questions, and even went back to muttering “Don’t come again” every time Tohru left the shop. That seemed quite exaggerated; after all, it wasn’t like he asked a personal question. Actually, Iwai only grumbled when Chiba didn’t watch her mouth and found herself asking how he did, or giving news about what was going on in her life. He barely even treated his overly talkative regulars more coldly when they did something that displeased him, so why was his reaction so disproportionate whenever it came to Tohru?

_Of course, whenever he received a special treatment from someone, it was to be treated worse than the others. It could be seen as a universal rule at this point._

_…_

_And really, what made this special menu so special?_

This question had been haunting the cop ever since he’d heard about it, and after seeing the Duke of the North Wind’s reaction, he was more curious than ever. Could it be that there was really something illegal behind it? Given the snowman’s reaction, it seemed like the most obvious answer. Yet, if he was really that wary of the sergeant, then why didn’t he simply accept and give him access to a legal version of it, so as not to raise his suspicions?

That being said, he wouldn’t put it past Iwai to act like that out of pride. “As if I’d give special privileges to a _cop_ ,” he was probably thinking. That was an option… Or maybe the truth was lying somewhere in between?

In any case, Tohru _had_ to know what was really hiding behind those two words. And since Endo had been speaking about it the whole time as if his counterpart knew what he was talking about and had access to it already, it meant that he couldn’t ask the other regulars directly. That would make him seem suspicious, and that was the last thing he needed at the moment. After all, even though his relationship with their little group was only the byproduct of his efforts to get closer to Iwai, it was what really helped him reach his goal. Plus, it was the only thing left from his past efforts. If he lost their trust now, he’d never be able to go back to how things used to be between the retailer and him (or how they were for a short while, at least).

To summarize, if the sergeant wanted to know what that special menu was exactly, he’d have to learn it himself. By gaining access to it. Which meant that he’d have to go even further behind the Ice Fortress’ walls.

This could be interesting!

.

…

Or this could be a pain in the ass.

Seriously, what more could Tohru do? If he tried harder to please His Frozen Majesty, he might start bothering him instead. Yet apparently, his current behavior wasn’t enough.

He could maybe tell the retailer to drop it for the special menu? But then, that would mean making things worse if he tried asking about it later on, and he wasn’t ready to give up on it.

The sergeant sighed. Iwai could be so moody sometimes…

But for now, he had more important things to focus on, he reminded himself as his attention went back to the paperwork he’d been working on for the past couple of hours. Once again, Masanobu had dropped his share on his junior’s desk and disappeared. He probably went on a patrol again, and would only come back at the end of the day, peeking hopefully through the door to check if Tohru had done both of their work. It was a habit of his, and the younger cop knew from experience that he was never going to hear the end of it if he didn’t comply with this unspoken order.

Truth be told, as much as the sergeant hated paperwork, it was still something he did without complaining. Actually, doing his _senpai_ ’s share was even starting to be fun. Masanobu never checked how well his junior had filled it: he only made sure that the work was done. Meaning that it didn’t matter how poorly Tohru was doing it! Plus, he knew from experience that the older cop would never admit to his superiors that he’d let someone else do his job.

The first few times, the sergeant did poorly on purpose, hoping that it would dissuade his senior from counting on him from then on. However, it soon turned out that it only meant putting up with a long lecture about a policeman’s duties and the importance of trust between _senpai_ and _kohai_. So nowadays, Tohru tried to do a poor job while also making sure the higher ups would accept it. It was a petty vengeance, but in the long run, he was really hoping that people would notice the difference between his reports and Masanobu’s. After all, maybe he could turn that shitty situation to his advantage?

_Also, given that idiot’s level of education, it would be suspicious if he did too good of a job, right? In the end, Tohru was just putting himself at the moron’s level in order to protect their little secret._

Just as he was finishing the last form he had to fill for the day, the sergeant noticed Masanobu’s head peeking through the door with the usual half curious and half hopeful glint in his eyes.

_Understand: “Is the job done, rookie?”_

“Oh, Masanobu-senpai, welcome back. How was your patrol?” Tohru asked out of habit, playing his role in their shared ritual. “Since you weren’t coming back, I took the liberty of doing some of your paperwork. Is that alright with you?”

_Understand: “I’ve done everything today again, ~~you lazy bum~~. I hope you had fun working for Justice outside ~~and I’m also a bit disappointed that no one stabbed you on the way~~.”_

“I’ll check if you didn’t make any mistake,” the other muttered as he grabbed the pile of paper his junior gave him and sat at his desk.

_Understand: “I’ll look at it and shuffle a bit of paper before signing them, just in case someone was listening to our conversation, but there’s no way I’m reading a thing. Who does that? Reading is for morons who can’t understand pictures.”_

While he was taking care of that, doing that stupid thing where he moved his lips as if he was reading (but it was obvious that he really wasn’t, or else he’d have noticed how terribly the job was done), Tohru looked at him with a bored expression.

He really didn’t understand why the other was trying so hard to keep the truth about the paperwork a secret, and why they had to play that masquerade every day, even though no one ever listened to their conversations (or else they’d have reacted to the fact that the sergeant was doing his share properly and Masanobu’s was always done in a slapdash way).

Once the moron was done acting like he could understand kanji, he got up, grabbed the pile and declared:

“This will do. I’ll hand them in now and then I’ll go home.”

_Understand: “You’re saving my life but there’s no way I’ll admit it, rookie.”_

With Masanobu gone, there was nothing stopping Tohru from leaving as well.

_What a stupid unspoken rule it was that he couldn’t leave work before his senpai… He was losing so much time because of it._

He took a look at the clock as he slowly gathered his stuff, and let out a disappointed sigh. Once again, it was too late to go to Untouchable. With the current increase in workload at the station, this was becoming a habit these days.

Tohru pursed his lips in annoyance. Combined with the return of winter in Untouchable, he hadn’t had a single normal conversation with Iwai in a while. It pissed the cop off more than it should, but he had to admit that spending time with the man was a great way of letting off some steam. After all, there were so few interesting people in the sergeant’s life that he often found himself making up conversations with the shop owner in his head! It happened a lot when he was working on modifying his airsoft guns, actually. The cop could sometimes feel the other man nodding in approval whenever he managed to do something particularly tricky, and he often imagined how he’d tell him all about it later on.

Well, maybe that was only a habit from when Tohru was trying to get on the snowman’s good side.

But still, it was frustrating that he couldn’t go back to his favorite place, especially now that it went back to being so unwelcoming. At this rate, the sergeant would never be able to make things better with Iwai. And he still wasn’t closer to finding out where to even start…

.

Adachi didn’t come much these days. Actually, it had been more than a week since his last visit to Untouchable, and even before that, he only came about once a week. For a customer who used to be here almost every day, it was really an abrupt change of pace. Could it be that Mune had finally managed to drive him out of his shop?

Knowing the guy, this would be surprising. The cop had struck him as the persistent type…

But still, the facts were here: he wasn’t coming back.

So why didn’t Mune feel more relieved about it?

_Why did he even notice?_

A part of him was saying that it was just because he didn’t want to rejoice too early, but somehow, the idea of not seeing the stubborn moron again displeased him. He didn’t like that. After all, the less cops he had in his life, the better, right?

Still, the retailer couldn’t help but feel a bit curious as to why the guy wasn’t coming back at all. Had it only been for his current week-long absence, Mune would have assumed that he was on a trip somewhere, but combined with the previous drop in his frequentation… Maybe he was leaving for good after all?

The shop owner sighed. Whatever it was, it was too early to jump to conclusions.

After all, he wouldn’t be surprised if the second he started to believe that the fuzz wasn’t coming back, he’d suddenly hear the door open and–

The door opened and a familiar voice greeted:

“Good evening, Iwai-san! I’m back!”

Of course, it was Adachi. Mune knew he shouldn’t have thought about him…

.

Tohru knew it was a bit late to go to Untouchable, but right now, he was feeling _great!_ And what a better way to end a nice-ish day than to go to his favorite place? Especially since his job had kept him away from it for ten long days.

_Damn, he couldn’t believe it had been so long already! Time sure flies when you’re busy…_

There had been a small celebration at the station earlier. A big case they’d been working on had finally been solved, and more importantly, they were almost done with all the paperwork from a previous case. Obviously, everyone congratulated Masanobu on his amazing involvement in the current one. Surely, he would soon be promoted at this rate!

_Ugh…_

That was so annoying. Especially since that asshole would be all too happy to bask in the spotlight while giving all of the subsequent paperwork to his junior. That guy was always the first to react when it came to action, but he was also the first to run away when the boring administrative part started. In Masanobu’s mind, Justice stopped being relevant the second paperwork was involved.

Anyway, at least there was free food and free booze. Tohru could think about his asshole coworker and the impending tsunami of paperwork that he would soon have to deal with on his own later on.

The sergeant smiled when he reached Untouchable’s back street. He checked the time on his phone, and his smile turned into a grin. It was a bit late, but it was still a good time to come in! Sure, he still had no idea what to do to improve his relationship with Cygnus Hyoga (was it a promotion or a demotion compared to Camus? that was a good question…), but at least he could check if there was something new and interesting! After all, the policeman’s last project was finished, and he was too proud of it to risk breaking it like the others while trying to make it more than just “mostly harmless”.

Actually, that could be a great conversation starter, Tohru realized. Happy with his new idea, he came in with a smile and couldn’t help but exclaim joyfully:

“Good evening, Iwai-san! I’m back!”

Maybe that was too much, he realized afterward. That was what Iwai’s puzzled look was saying, at least. Fortunately for the cop though, there was no one else in the shop at the moment.

As he could have expected, the retailer’s attitude changed instantly when he recognized him, and his usual, cold and stern expression was back in a second. He even did the little sighing thing just for him, how cute…

It didn’t matter though, because the cop was so glad to be back that nothing could faze him. Even Iwai’s coldness didn’t feel as unwelcoming as it used to.

Tohru quickly scanned the shop, searching for something different, but he didn’t waste too much time looking and asked instead:

“So, do you have anything new?”

And, of course, the snowman was already ignoring him, faking to be absorbed in his magazine.

_Great._

Seriously, what could Tohru do to make him stop?! Seduce him?

…

Actually, that wasn’t such a bad idea. His normal, sober self would have found it horrible, but the current buzzing in his head was telling him it was right.

Adopting a smooth expression, Tohru slowly walked toward the counter and seductively leaned on it, letting his chin rest gracefully in the palm of his hand as he sent the man his most charming look.

It took Iwai a few seconds to notice him and look up from his magazine. As he saw his customer being so close, he backed up quickly with an incredulous look, and he asked gruffly:

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Tohru replied sexily with a suave voice and an alluring smile. “Just admiring the angel before me.”

All things considered, that was a bad idea. Iwai’s shocked expression was clearly telling him that it was the worst idea he’d ever had. Actually, even the buzzing in his head was telling him … nothing, because it was gone. It had run away as soon as it had realized what a horrible mistake this whole seduction thing was, because it didn’t want to be here to face the consequences of its terrible advice. What a coward…

Time seemed to stop, as Tohru was waiting for the inevitable angry and outraged reaction of the other. Actually, it was his turn to back up haphazardly, babbling an incoherent combination of apologies and cheap excuses for his ridiculous and stupid and _inappropriate_ behavior. Now he was going to be banned from the shop forever, there was no doubt about it!

_Nice job, Tohru!_

However, instead of screaming at him or even punching him in the face like he should have, Iwai just … chuckled. The man was trying to hide it behind his hand, but there was a glint of amusement in his eyes, and his voice was surprisingly soft when he said:

“Go home, Adachi-san. You’re drunk, and you look exhausted.”

Tohru’s mind went blank as he drowned in a pleasant mix of surprise, happiness, excitement, and more happiness*. Was this what bliss felt like? Probably, the buzzing in his head replied as it came back to claim its reward for its excellent advice.

At least, the smile that flourished on the cop’s lips could certainly be described as blissful. There were probably sparkles all around him right now.

He, Tohru Adachi, had managed to make Munehisa “What Is a Smile?” Iwai … chuckle?

Was it heaven? Did Iwai actually knock him out after his failed pick up attempt and the sergeant was dreaming all this?

The retailer was staring at him, obviously waiting for a reaction, and Tohru managed to reply:

“Yes. Sure. Hum… Sorry about that. Bye.”

And with this, he left.

Maybe this whole seduction thing was the right approach after all, he thought as he joyfully stumbled on his way home. At least the funny part of it.

Was Tohru drunk from alcohol or happiness? He honestly couldn’t tell. But he was sure of one thing: now, he had his solution to make Iwai open up!

* * *

 

*Simply put, he was feeling like this: “??!!!???:):):)???:D:D:D!!!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For information: "Aquarius", "Gold Saint", "Camus", and "Cygnus Hyoga" are all referring to ice themed characters from Saint Seiya. It was a huge thing in Japan when Tohru was a kid (and in France when I was a kid) so I figured he would know it.


	5. Turning That Frown Upside Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Are you ready for some seriously cheesy flirting? Because here it comes!  
> Most of the pickup lines are Rawen's ideas, and I'd like to thank him for those. The rest is all my work, and I really had fun with it!
> 
> Enjoy!

Tohru woke up in the middle of the night, drowsy, lost, and sober. Flashes from his earlier visit to Untouchable immediately started popping up in his mind, and the cop was fully awake less than a second later.

_Did he really do what his memories were telling him he did?!_

_No way!_

Sure, it worked in a surprisingly good way and revealed the most unexpected side of the retailer…

_Tohru felt so blessed to have seen the man chuckle… And he was the one who made him, all by himself!_

…but really, that was a stupid idea, and the sergeant couldn’t believe that he’d considered it seriously, tipsy or not! After all, what would he have done if his pitiful attempt of flirting had worked?

 _That wouldn’t be so bad…_ replied the part of his mind that was already starting to fall back asleep.

 _It’s not like it’s going to work anyway, so why not use it as a joke? Iwai seemed to like it,_ a more serious part declared.

 _No one should know your grandma’s a bodybuilder,_ said another that was asleep already.

 _That laugh though… Why can’t he act like that more often? Can I make him smile more if I keep flirting ridiculously like yesterday?_ A fourth one wondered.

Anyway, it wasn’t like the cop had any other ideas. He’d better start thinking about good pickup lines when he got up in the morning!

.

The good thing about leaving his job late was that it gave Tohru a good reason to come to Untouchable when there weren’t many customers left. For Iwai’s sake and for his, the sergeant wasn’t going to try his ~~desperate~~ new idea in front of other people.

In the meanwhile, since he was done with the day’s paperwork and was now waiting for Masanobu to come back and “check on it,” he had some time to try and find pickup lines he could use.

Tohru lightly tapped his lips with his pen, trying to think of a good one. He already had a few, but he wasn’t really proud of them. There was one, though…

“Adachi, what are you doing? Did you finish your work?”

The sergeant jolted as he heard his _senpai_ ’s words, almost falling from his chair. He wasn’t expecting him so early, and he was so lost in thoughts that he hadn’t even realized that he was sitting in a precarious position.

“Sit straight rookie! That isn’t a proper position for a member of the police force!” Masanobu barked when he noticed.

His junior straightened up immediately, barely repressing an annoyed sigh, and put his little ~~Iwai~~ personal notebook back in his pocket.

“What were you even writing in there?” the other man sneered. “A poem for your girlfriend?”

“Haha, good one, Sir!” Tohru replied out of habit, punching the asshole mentally before adding: “I’ve finished the work for today.”

And the usual masquerade started again.

.

Tohru entered Untouchable confidently enough. Well, he entered it normally, at least. Today’s mission was simple: he had to check if there was anyone else in the shop, deliver his pickup line, and see how Iwai reacted to it this time. It wasn’t much, just testing the water, see if he could go further with his plan. Nothing too complicated for the first time.

_This was a stupid idea. Why was he doing it again?_

He could do it. It couldn’t be that hard!

_And in any case, he was constantly making a fool of himself, so that wouldn’t be so different…_

A quick look around the shop showed that the sergeant wasn’t the only customer at the moment. He barely repressed a sigh of relief. That would give him more time to prepare mentally for what he was planning to do next.

_That would give him more time to realize how much of a horrible plan this was and chicken out like a coward. At least that would make him a sensible one._

Tohru wandered around the place aimlessly, unable to focus on anything. He stopped in front of a random model and stared at it blankly, trying to look focused while he kept repeating to himself that it would be easy and it wasn’t like he had any other idea anyway.

_It could also fail horribly. So horribly that it would ruin everything forever. What would he do if he lost this place? He liked it here! He didn’t want to leave._

“Thanks for coming,” Iwai said behind him.

The door rang and the other customer left.

Tohru sighed. That was his chance. No chickening out. He had to do it.

The cop took a deep breath and turned around with an unsure smile.

“Iwai-san, did it hurt?” he asked with a faltering voice.

 _Lame. LAME! Was he really going for that? He could do so much better, he had an entire_ list _of better ones_ _in his notebook dammit!_

The retailer sent him a death glare, his ice cold eyes burning between the top of his book and the tip of his cap.

“What?” he inquired, letting the word crack in the air like a whip.

Tohru gulped. Now for the next trick…

“When you fell…”

His voice cracked, and despite his best efforts, the rest refused to come out.

“Never mind! Look at the time, it’s so late, bye!” he finished quickly as he ran to the door and away from that place, ignoring the shop owner’s surprised look.

_Well, that went horribly._

He’d do better next time! He just needed a better pickup line!

_…or another plan entirely._

.

Tohru was ready this time. That was what he told himself, at least. He had already chosen what he would say and played the scene in his head several times. He had backup plans in case it went wrong. He was even wearing a freshly ironed t-shirt! He’d thought about it earlier and decided that a proper shirt would be too much.

_It would be fine!_

There was no one in the shop when he entered. He smiled confidently and went straight to the counter. He then leaned on it casually and asked:

“Hey, do you have any stun grenades?”

Iwai sent him a questioning look, and he continued:

“Or are you the only model exposed?”

Mune stared at the smiling idiot in front of him silently. He blinked once, then twice, until he finally remembered that he was supposed to breathe. He calmly proceeded to do that.

What the hell was that moron thinking this time?! This was clearly a terrible pickup line, right? And it was obviously directed at him, too! But… Adachi didn’t look drunk or tired this time. So why?!

The other man was looking at him expectantly. He seemed a bit relieved to be alive, too. It was true that, had Mune not been so stunned, he could have had a way more violent and unpredictable reaction. But then, if the idiot was expecting that, why would he…?

Adachi sighed, looking like a dejected puppy, and that brought the retailer back to reality. He couldn’t repress a tiny smile as he said:

“You know, after your little stunt from last time, I wasn’t expecting you to come back with that.”

The guy’s expression brightened all of a sudden, and he grinned as he asked:

“What were you expecting then?”

“I don’t know. ‘I’m sorry, this will never happen again,’ I guess.”

“Oh, I’ll never be sorry for following my heart, Iwai-san!” the cop snapped back with a wink and a cocky smile.

Tohru had no idea where this one came from, but it was good!

_…and maybe a bit too much._

Anyway. He was still alive, and Iwai didn’t look like he was going to kill him or banish him from his shop forever, so it was going awesomely!

“Sure…” the retailer replied wryly.

He seemed a bit amused. Which was what the cop was aiming for, so it was good!

_Too far from the smile he had last time though… But he’d do better next time!_

“Now get out of here, I have to close shop,” the other continued, vaguely motioning toward the door with his head, like he usually did.

It was pretty late already, so it made sense. It meant that the man wasn’t mad at him, which was perfect!

“Sure! Have a nice evening, bye!” Tohru replied as he walked to the door.

 _Success!_ _He_ knew _it would work! Now, for next time…_

.

Days passed, and Adachi kept coming back with silly pickup lines and awful flirting. Mune didn’t know if there was a gradation in the ridiculousness, or even if the moron was starting to improve, but it sure was a sight to behold…

He knew that he asked this a lot these days but really, what was that idiot thinking this time? The retailer’s most solid guess was that he wasn’t doing it seriously. It seemed like he only wanted to see his reaction and retain his attention somehow.

_If so, it was working..._

To his surprise, Mune could never bring himself to berate his silly customer ( _cop_ customer), or even ask him to stop.  It wasn’t that he enjoyed it, but he had to admit that it was very entertaining, and a nice change in his daily routine. Plus, at least Adachi always made sure they were alone when he did this ( _wow, lucky him..._ the retailer would have already thrown him out if he hadn’t).

That being said, it had still taken him a while to decide what to make of the other man’s new habit. Was he just joking? Was there a bit of honesty behind his words? The shop owner didn’t know and more importantly, he didn’t _want_ to know. His relationship with the fuzz was conflicted enough, it wasn’t time to add unrequited feelings to that mess. Plus, it was way more likely that it was nothing but a joke, and that was how Mune had decided to treat it. It made everything a lot easier, and Adachi’s reactions when he did that only confirmed that it was what he wanted.

_Why was he playing along then? He should just stop reacting and throw him out of his shop, and out of his life!_

Anyway, now that this was settled in the retailer’s mind, he was almost starting to find himself waiting for his weird client’s newest ideas.

_He was getting way too used to it..._

.

“Police! You’re under arrest for stealing my heart!”

Of all the things Mune expected to hear when Adachi walked into the shop, this one was the last.

The guy gave him a mini heart attack with the first part of his sentence. The retailer’s old reflexes had kicked in faster than light and his hand was already on a dagger*, ready to grab it before taking off through the back of the shop. As he looked at the cop with a perplexed expression, he had to stop himself from making plans to take Kaoru with him and leave the city. Then, the second part kicked in and after a moment of dismayed silence, he stifled a laugh. The urge to punch the man, or at least glare at him and tell him never to do that again was there, but somehow, he found himself replying with a half-smile:

“You really shouldn’t scare me like that. Where did that even come from?”

The other looked lost for a second, and it was obvious to Mune that he didn’t plan this far. He probably wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction, and the shop owner couldn’t blame him for that. After all, he rarely talked back, and he had stopped asking questions a long time ago. Still, Adachi’s silence was relatively short until he replied:

“Well, like I said, you stole my heart. Isn’t it normal that I should try to steal yours?”

He wiggled his eyebrows, and the retailer couldn’t repress a chuckle. Sure, he was starting to get used to it, but even after weeks, he still couldn’t believe that it was really Adachi’s new strategy to make Mune open up to him.

_It was working, though. Why was he letting this work? He should just throw him out, it was a perfect opportunity! Why didn’t he? What kind of idiot was he turning into?!_

“That makes no sense. You’d just become another thief,” the shop owner declared blankly instead of listening to his inner warning signals.

“That would make us partners in crime!” the other replied with a grin, leaning even more on the counter.

“Not interested,” Mune stated, feigning to go back to his reading.

Adachi was probably going to say something, but he was interrupted by the ringing of the shop’s bell as Dan came inside. The moron straightened up immediately with a guilty look. He then adopted a more composed expression before greeting the newcomer.

“Anyway, thanks for the advice, Iwai-san. Bye!” he said before walking to the door mechanically, as if nothing had happened and he wasn’t shamelessly flirting less than a minute ago.

Mune couldn’t tell if it worked or if the man’s reaction looked very suspicious, but at least his other regular didn’t seem to notice anything wrong.

.

Laying on his couch, notebook in hand and pen safely tucked between his nose and upper lip, Tohru was thinking about Iwai. More precisely, he was looking for new pickup lines. He had used all of the good ones already (some of them he liked so much that he found himself waiting impatiently for the moment when he could finally meet the shop owner and see how he reacted to it).

His flirtatious conversations lasted longer these days. The retailer didn’t seem to dislike it. Actually, he even started playing along, to some extent.

_He smiled more, and even laughed sometimes. That was…_

A dreamy smile appeared on Tohru’s lips at the memory, and he barely noticed the pen falling in the crook of his neck. He was starting to have a nice collection of Iwai’s amused expressions, but he wanted more. Which was why he needed to find new pickup lines! He was starting to run out, and he couldn’t afford to stop now that the plan was working so well!

_The plan … which was to have access to the special menu, right? Since when did his goal change to “seeing Iwai smile”?_

Tohru slowly lowered the notebook he’d been staring at the whole time, putting it on his chest. That was true. His plan was to have access to the special menu and finally have his own, real gun. The retailer was just a stepping stone here, he was never supposed to mean anything. So why was the man’s raspy chuckle so important in his perception of how well their interactions went?

_And there was the dream from last night. Something about Iwai pulling him over the counter for a heated kiss, wasn’t it?_

Tohru groaned at the memory, covering his face with his arm. It wasn’t even the first time it happened, and he didn’t want to think about it. It was embarrassing… Especially since the sergeant was obviously interested in girls! His dream of a hot girlfriend who’d cook for him was still here, and the retailer clearly didn’t fit the description!

_But there was something, clearly. He’d never been this obsessed with a hot chick, and he didn’t care one bit if her smile could make his heart flutter. Iwai, on the other hand, was dangerously close to…_

Okay, this whole flirting thing had gone too far, really. That was an accident, and everything would be back to normal if Tohru put the plan on hold for a little while. It wasn’t like he wanted it to work anyway!

_But again, the idea of Iwai pulling him over the counter for a heated kiss sounded amazing, right? He probably tasted like his cherry lollipops…_

An accident. It was all in his mind, and it wouldn’t last. Tohru just needed some time to put his brain back in order, that was all.

_Or Iwai kissing his neck roughly, the feeling of the man’s stubble on his skin, prickling yet not unpleasant…_

Nope! Tohru bit his lip, feeling his cheeks burn at the idea. He was not letting his mind wander there!

That was it. There would be no more flirting from now on. Not until things went back to normal, at least.

.

… Things weren’t going back to normal. At all. If anything, the situation was even getting a lot worse.

_When exactly did Iwai become such a major part of his life?_

Tohru wanted to see the man smile; he constantly wanted to be the center of his attention. And somehow, their usual conversations about airsoft weren’t enough anymore, because he couldn’t help letting some flirty comments slip when there was no one else around. The cop had even started coming specifically at times when other customers were the most likely to be in the shop, in order to prevent himself from doing that and make sure he’d act normally.

Still, now that he knew how much he ~~loved~~ enjoyed the retailer’s amused expressions, and how much he ~~craved for a kiss and maybe more~~ liked their witty banter from when he was ~~absolutely~~ fake flirting, it all felt wrong somehow.

Sure, somewhere along the way, Tohru had started truly enjoying modifying and upgrading his purchases, even if it didn’t bring him closer to his real gun; and Iwai’s tips and advice on the matter were always welcome. Yet, the sergeant didn’t always have something new to bring to the table, and when there was nothing, what else was he supposed to do to have his daily dose of the retailer’s attention?

Tohru sighed as he leaned back on his chair, tearing his attention off from his paperwork. He hadn’t written anything in a while, anyway.

This had gone out of control, he thought, staring blankly at the station’s ceiling. Maybe he should give up on his flirting plan for real and stop coming to the shop altogether for a while, until it passed. Sure, it would be hard, but that was yet another proof that he needed this to stop before he became too obsessed with Untouchable and its ~~handsome~~ ~~fascinating~~ owner.

_Nice job, Tohru. You had one good thing going and of course, you had to take it too far and ruin it again…_

He could try avoiding the place for about a month and see how it went. That could be–

“Adachi-san, if you’re not too busy staring at the ceiling, can you take care of this deposition please?” Yamada asked coldly from the other side of the station.

“Hum… Yeah, sure!” the sergeant replied as he quickly got up, forgetting about his current work in progress.

_When did he even leave the door opened?_

.

Tohru would have thought that with the start of the rainy season, staying away from Untouchable would be a lot easier. And for a while, it really was. After all, not going to the shop meant spending less time under the pouring rain.

So why was the cop currently standing at the door of this very place with his most recently modified airsoft gun safely tucked in the pocket of his raincoat?

_Oh, right. He was really proud of this one and he decided on a whim to come and show it to Iwai, pouring rain or not… Was he really that desperate for attention?_

A group of people left the shop and sent him a surprised look. He should either come in or go back home, he reminded himself. He couldn’t just stand here forever.

Really, he should just leave, he thought as he opened the shop’s door and stepped into it. There were no customers left. It was kind of late, after all…

“Hi, Iwai-san. Fancy seeing you here,” he greeted, tipping his inexistent hat with a serious expression that quickly turned into a goofy smile.

“Adachi-san,” the retailer replied with a nod.

“Now, guess,” the sergeant declared as he approached the counter, hands back in his pockets, “is it a gun, or am I really happy to see you?” he continued with a grin, pointing his hidden model at the shop owner.

_He’d wanted to do that for a while, and with summer at the door, it would soon be too late for that._

“Huh?” Iwai let out with a surprised look and a slight frown.

“Wrong! This is my latest creation,” Tohru announced as he pulled the model out of his pocket and put it on the counter.

The other man sighed with a hint of amusement, and the cop explained:

“I’m really proud of this one, and I wanted to show it to you. Plus, I wonder if I can make it even better, so any constructive criticism is welcome.”

The retailer took it to have a better look, and Tohru couldn’t help but lean against the counter, forgetting about how soaked he was, and ask with a smug look:

“Also, how was my entrance?”

“It was terrible, please don’t do that again,” Iwai replied mindlessly, not even sparing him a look as he kept examining the model.

He had a slight smile, though. And it was so very tempting to take off his cap and enjoy the view…

Tohru bit the inside of his lip guiltily at the thought. He shouldn’t let his mind wander there and get to how good it would feel to have Iwai’s hands–

“I think it’s good. You did a really nice job here,” the retailer announced, interrupting the cop’s (dangerous, _dangerous_ ) train of thoughts. “And stay away from that counter, you’re dripping wet,” he added with a stern frown when he noticed the pool that had started forming around his customer’s arm.

The sergeant immediately snapped back to reality and straightened up with an apology. The other took out a piece of cloth to wipe it up, and then proceeded to give him advice on possible improvements. Much like in the olden days, back when Iwai’s attention was a tiny miracle in itself, Tohru found himself listening to the man’s words religiously.

Maybe the situation wasn’t so bad after all, the cop thought as he walked to the train station afterward, barely noticing the sound of the early summer rain and the cold wetness on his feet and legs as he walked mindlessly in deep puddles. Their conversation had lasted until it was time to close shop, and he’d even managed to make Iwai laugh once. Better yet, the retailer had invited him to the back storeroom to try out the model in his improvised shooting range. There were a few unfinished projects on a table, but Tohru was too busy enjoying the moment to ask about them. Maybe it was for the best, actually…

In any case, he could live with that kind of relationship. He’d made enormous progress today, and even if Iwai didn’t take him seriously, it only meant that he’d never have to act on his weird crush. He’d just let it pass and go back to being perfectly heterosexual (which he was) once it was over. This was merely a strange accident anyway, he shouldn’t think about it too much. I would be a waste of his time.

Plus, it wasn’t like he had a better plan to get access to the retailer’s special menu… Right?

.

_Why?_

What the heck was Mune thinking when he invited Adachi, a _cop, active member of the police force,_ in his private shooting range?

Sure, he remembered to hide his most compromising projects before letting the fuzz in. And the other didn’t even react to the few safe ones that he purposefully left in sight. However, shouldn’t the mere fact that the retailer remembered to hide things have been enough to remind him who, exactly, Adachi was?

So why did he do it anyway?!

The shop owner grunted as he finished putting everything in order in the store. He had acted like a reckless idiot. His curiosity toward the cop’s model was no excuse for letting his guard down so much.

_He had a really nice time though. And Adachi was quite a good shot, he’d be a great asset in an airsoft team, if he tried. Maybe he could mention that to Chiba and Dan as a revenge? Those two would never leave the fuzz alone if they knew; but at the same time, this would go entirely against his “no sharing of personal information or small talk with customers” policy, and he didn’t want to break this golden rule for something as petty as personal revenge. Anyway, this probably wasn’t a good idea._

Still. What Mune did was unforgivable, and he shouldn’t do it again. Ever. If that fuzz thought he had gained special privileges just because the retailer let his guard down once, he was wrong!

As he closed the front door and pulled down the metal shutter, the retailer took a deep breath and sighed. He’d better make sure to cool off before he got back home. He couldn’t let Kaoru see him upset; he didn’t want to worry the kid.

He contemplated his options for a second, mindlessly playing with his keys, and decided to walk for a while. That usually did the trick, and it would get his mind off the annoying cop who was slowly taking over his shop.

* * *

 

*A _plastic_ dagger. Looking back on it, Mune felt so stupid that he could have banged his head on the counter until his useless brain turned into pulp.


	6. The Way To a Man’s Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Great news everyone: I've finished part two of this story! So to celebrate, here is the new chapter!
> 
> This time, Tohru will finally meet Kaoru. Fun fact: I had the idea for this story when I was editing Untouchable and read the part where Tohru and Kaoru met.
> 
> Enjoy!

Tohru was in shock. Iwai … didn’t react to his pickup line? How was this even possible, it was one of his favorites so far!

The sergeant had walked into the shop, looking all alarmed on purpose, and exclaimed:

“Iwai-san, I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried, there’s been a lot of robberies these days.” He then added after a dramatic pause: “Luckily, they didn’t take what’s most precious to me: you’re still here.”

Iwai didn’t move, even when the cop’s serious expression had turned into a cheesy one. It was like he hadn’t listened at all! Tohru was so excited about this one, he’d been waiting all day to say it! He’d actually spent most of it imagining all the possible ways of delivering it. He’d even trained in front of the mirror! All of this … for nothing?

He couldn’t believe it.

“Iwai-san?” he called, wondering why the man wasn’t even looking at him.

“What? Do you need something?” the other snapped, sending him a nasty glare before going back to ignoring him in a perfect imitation of an NPC.

Wow, that was unexpected… Everything had gone so well last time he came here, and now all he got was this?

Why? What did he do wrong?

“Hum… Actually, there has really been an increase in robberies these days,” Tohru tried.

_He sure knew something about it, since he had to fill all those annoying depositions and deal with complaints… Well, Masanobu took care of most of it, since he loved being a hero and reassuring innocent citizens in need so much, but still, he was the one who took care of all the writing and paperwork that followed!_

“And? Who’s going to rob this place when there are so many wealthier shops around?” the retailer countered sharply.

“I-“ the sergeant started. He then realized that he had no idea what to reply to that and sighed before turning around to check the exposed models silently.

The atmosphere remained tensed until another customer arrived, and since he realized that he had no idea how to lighten the mood and didn’t feel like it anyway, Tohru took this opportunity to leave the place.

_He didn’t even deserve Iwai’s “Don’t come again” farewell, and that saddened him more than it should have._

What just happened? What could have made Iwai change so suddenly? Did another cop anger him and rouse his grudge against the police? Was it something the sergeant did? Was it because the retailer regretted letting him in the shop’s back storeroom? Did Tohru shoot too well? Did the man just have a bad day? What could it be?!

The cop groaned as he explored the various possibilities. He had no way to know which one was correct!

_Maybe it was just how things were. Maybe he should simply stop seeing people and isolate himself like he did so well for the past few years. The world was shit anyway. People were shit. Nothing was worth anything, life was meaningless, and he hated everything._

Tohru sighed as he tried to forget those thoughts and focus on a way to solve the issue. His only solution for now was to try again and see if he could rule out the idea that it was just a one-time thing. That was worth a try.

.

It was a very hot day outside. The air was heavy and damp, like a typical Japanese summer. Tohru was exhausted by the mere thought of going outside. Sure, it was slightly better now that the sun had started to set, but the humidity didn’t help lower the temperature, sun or not.

As he arrived in Shibuya’s main shopping street, passing by a group of high school students enjoying their summer vacation, the sergeant wondered why he didn’t just stay home instead of going outside. Not that his flat was much cooler, but at least the air was relatively dry…

Tohru sighed, chasing the idea of a nice cold shower out of his mind. He knew exactly why he was here today, he reminded himself as he turned left in Untouchable’s backstreet. With this whole robbery mess solved, he could finally take a day off and go back to this place. It had been a long time since his last visit, and the cop wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass.

He hadn’t tried anything since the disaster from last time, and if the shop was empty, Tohru was planning to make another flirting attempt and see how it went. Iwai had remained relatively colder the few times the cop had managed to come, and he only seemed open to normal customer talk. Even just talking about his new modified gun projects was apparently off limits, and since he had so much work lately, the sergeant didn’t have time to come up with a solution or an experiment to turn things back to normal.

Today would be the day, he thought as he walked past the doors, delighted to see that there was no other customer at the moment.

“Good afternoon, Iwai-san!” he greeted joyfully, only receiving a grunt in response.

Tohru didn’t let it affect him. He approached the counter with a smile, and continued:

“Your models are still as impressive as ever, but I have better. Check out these guns!” he exclaimed, flexing his inexistent biceps.

To his surprise, Iwai didn’t look amused, nor disgruntled. Actually, he looked … shocked? No.

He was horrified.

Perplexed, Tohru examined his arm, finding nothing unusual. Then, he heard high pitched giggles coming from the counter. The sergeant’s attention went immediately back to Iwai, who was still not moving. The sound couldn’t come from him anyway, it sounded more like a … child?

The cop’s eyes lowered on a tiny head, barely higher than the counter. Obviously, that was the source of the laughter. And of Iwai’s distress.

“You’re funny!” the kid exclaimed joyfully.

He then turned to the retailer and asked:

“Dad, is he one of your friends?”

_Dad?! Was… Was Iwai “Dad”? There was no one else in the room but…_

“He’s just a weird customer, don’t mind him Kaoru,” the man who was apparently ‘Dad’ sighed.

It took a while for Tohru to process the information. Since when did Iwai have a wife? And if he did, why did he let the cop flirt with him so shamelessly, joking or not?

“You have a kid?!” he blurted.

The retailer sighed again. Apparently, he’d heard the question a lot today.

“Yeah. He’s going to be here all week,” he then declared without further explanation.

“Sayoko-nee couldn’t look after me because she’s in Australia with her boyfriend,” the boy added helpfully.

Tohru’s world shattered. That was way too much information for him, and the lack of explanation from Iwai clearly didn’t help either.

_At least that explained why the man was always so adamant to close shop on time, if he had a brat waiting for him at home. Or two, if that Sayoko really was his older sister._

Speaking about the kid, he seemed like a better source of information than his … father. ( _Ugh…_ ) If the sergeant wanted to know more, he’d have to turn to him. Plus, he apparently made a good first impression, so he could work from there.

“Nice to meet you, Kaoru-kun,” he said with his special smile, the one reserved to kids and old people. “I’m Tohru Adachi.”

The boy gave him a shy look and bowed politely. He apparently regretted his previous outbursts and seemed to wonder how okay it was to talk to him. Iwai probably played a role in this sudden change of attitude, given how he hated sharing personal information. He looked quite grim, actually.

“So, I’d like your honest opinion on something,” Tohru continued, enjoying the curiosity that sparked in the kid’s eyes as he said that. “Compared to all the other customers you’ve seen today, am I the weirdest?”

The boy paused and seemed to consider it seriously.

“There was a woman who asked a lot of questions earlier. I think she was weird,” he then declared.

Tohru jokingly adopted a hurt expression, and the kid quickly added:

“But you’re the funniest!”

That made the sergeant smile, and he asked with a mischievous look:

“So, wasn’t it too hard to spend all day with these people who are weirder and less funny than me?”

“It’s okay. I did my homework and read a book. And I helped Dad in the shop too!” he announced proudly.

“Good! What book was it?”

Tohru could have asked about how exactly he helped, but he feared that Iwai would take it as an attempt to gather information about the shop. More importantly, he really liked books.

As he heard the question, the boy took out a fairly big novel that should have been way above his level. That reminded the sergeant of his younger self, and memories of complicated, stubborn books and long lectures about the importance of reading a lot and being more advanced than other kids suddenly popped up in his mind. He frowned slightly at the thought, and before he could stop himself, he asked more seriously:

“Did your mom force you to read it?”

He regretted it immediately. The brat seemed surprised. Iwai seemed surprised.

“No! I love to read, and I really like this story! I read it with Dad before and I wanted to do it on my own this time,” Kaoru replied. “Plus, I don’t have a mom. It’s just Dad and me,” he added.

Well, that explained why Iwai never stopped him from flirting by telling him he was taken. And apparently, this Sayoko girl wasn’t part of the picture either. Still, imagining the retailer with a _wife_ or at least a _girlfriend_ at some point seemed incredibly weird.

Tohru wanted to know more, but he noticed the retailer’s wary expression and knew that he was ready to intervene as soon as the conversation became too personal for his liking. The cop was actually very impressed that he got away with this much on his first try. Hence, he decided to stop for now and change the subject. Since the kid seemed to like his sense of humor (meaning that he couldn’t be so bad, even for a brat), he decided to take this approach.

Or, he could…

He searched his pocket, looking for a fifty yen coin, and then pointed at the floor, exclaiming:

“Hey, a coin!”

He reached down and feigned to grab it before going up with it in hand and declaring thoughtfully:

“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t here earlier. I wonder if it’s a disappearing coin.”

“A disappearing coin?” the kid asked, curious.

It seemed that he had grabbed his attention. Perfect!

“Yeah, a coin that appears and disappears randomly,” he explained as he fidgeted it dramatically with his left hand. “One second you see it, and then you put it in your hand,” he continued, keeping it in the same hand instead and closing the other, “then, before you know it, boom! It’s gone!” he finished before opening his empty right hand.

The boy looked at him with sparkly eyes. Tohru loved that look and he couldn’t help but keep going.

“Well, there goes my coin…” he said with a disappointed face. “But wait, maybe if I...”

He put his hands together, shook a bit and opened them to reveal the coin.

“Hey, there it is!” he exclaimed joyfully.

Kaoru applauded, and the cop bowed dramatically. He was starting to really like this kid.

“Are you a magician?” the boy asked with a bright smile.

“Kind of,” Tohru replied evasively. “Do you want to see another?”

Kaoru eagerly nodded, but Iwai intervened:

“Adachi-san, you didn’t come here just to show magic tricks to my kid, did you?”

“Are you jealous?” the improvised magician replied with an innocent smile. “If so, I can show you one too! After all, I’m here to impress you…”

“That’s not the point,” the man sighed. “If you’re not going to buy anything, you can just leave.”

“But Iwai-san, we were having fun here!” he whined.

Kaoru turned to the retailer, mimicking the cop’s pleading look.

That made the man flinch, and he looked between the two of them for a few seconds before giving up.

“Fine, do whatever you want,” he sighed.

That was an interesting reaction, Tohru noticed. Apparently, Kaoru could make Iwai’s ice walls melt instantly.

_That was so much power… Why couldn’t he do the same?_

“So, gentleman and gentleman, for my next trick, I will need an assistant from the audience!”

As expected, the retailer sent him a nasty glare.

“Or three 50 yen coins,” he amended.

“And what if I give you three 500 yen?” Iwai asked with a smug look.

“Well you could, but they’re not magical, so it would ruin the trick,” Tohru simply replied.

The shop owner shrugged and gave him the coins. The cop then secretly added his previous “disappearing coin” and started the trick, glad to see how easily the moves were coming back.

_To think that he’d learned all of that to impress girls back in high school—with no results because the bitches always ignored him—only to use it years later to make a little boy like him…_

Tohru looked up and noticed that Iwai was smiling too. He softened. The retailer wasn’t exactly a cute high school chick, but he could do with that…

.

Looking back on it, Tohru didn’t know what to make of Kaoru. He was currently on his way to Untouchable, and if what Iwai said was true, the kid would be there again.

It had bothered him all day, and he had barely managed to focus on his work. It was starting to become a habit these days.

_A very bad one._

On the one hand, the presence of a child could ruin everything with the retailer…

_But there was never going to be a thing ever anyway, wake up Tohru!_

…but on the other, if he played his cards well, the kid could really be the key to the man’s heart! After all, Iwai seemed a lot more relaxed whenever Kaoru was laughing at the cop’s jokes or applauding his prowess with a coin.

_Magic tricks always came naturally to him. They mostly required dexterity and a lot of blabbering, and Tohru excelled at both. If only dealing with people’s complaints and paperwork could be that simple, he’d be chief inspector already!_

Anyway, that wasn’t the point, he reminded himself as he walked out of the Shibuya station. Still, he had practiced a few more tricks, just in case. Whatever he decided to do regarding the situation, it couldn’t hurt, right?

_And Iwai’s smile in these moments was really cute. Not to mention his expressions of love and tenderness whenever his kid showed signs of happiness… Why couldn’t he look at Tohru like that?_

_…that was incredibly sappy, and he was going to forget that he ever thought that. Now, back to the main topic!_

The sergeant sighed and stopped in the shadow of a nearby tree in the station square. Who was he trying to fool? Of course he was going to keep using the kid to get to his father! He might become a hindrance later on though, since the sergeant really couldn’t see Iwai openly being in a relationship with a man when he had a kid to take care of.

_A man that was going to be him, Tohru Adachi. Seriously, where did his fierce heterosexuality go since yesterday? Did the kid have it? Did Tohru simply give up on it? Did he lose it somewhere on the way? Really, he should just stop taking this so seriously. For the last time: this was going way too far!_

_But at the same time, he had already tried leaving and it didn’t work. So the only option left was to keep going, right? Maybe if he continued playing along, he’d soon realize how much he didn’t want this and get back to reality on his own._

Anyway, the cop was going to try and seduce Iwai for real. That much was certain, he concluded as he resumed his walk toward Untouchable. Now, as to what he’d do with Kaoru if he ever became an issue, he’d see later. After all, the sergeant was still hoping that everything would stop before anything serious came out of this mess.

When Tohru stepped into the shop, ready to carry out his new plan, he was met with a hurdle he had completely forgotten about: other customers. More precisely, Chiba and a bunch of people he didn’t know. He frowned with displeasure. He couldn’t act all friendly around Iwai when there were such a crowd around!

_Why did they have to ruin everything all the time? He hated people so much…_

He repressed a sigh and greeted Chiba. He should start shopping normally anyway, since he needed something new to work on. However, he was interrupted before he could even begin when a child’s voice exclaimed:

“Hi Adachi-san!”

Kaoru was staring at him with a gigantic smile, Iwai was looking at the boy with a puzzled expression, and everyone else had their attention on Tohru, with several degrees of surprise. As for the cop himself, he sure didn’t expect this enthusiastic reaction either. But he liked it and more importantly, it was very good for him!

“Oh, hi Kaoru-kun! I didn’t see you!” he greeted him with a friendly smile. “How are you today?”

“Good! I almost finished my book and Dad said we’ll buy a new one on the way home,” the boy explained with a radiant grin.

“Wow, Adachi-san, how did you do that? Last time I tried to talk to the kid, he barely replied!” Chiba declared with an impressed look.

Kaoru bit his lip and looked sorry for a second. As for Tohru, he felt a rush of pride, knowing that he was apparently the only one whom the little boy really seemed to like (aside from Iwai himself, of course).

“Well, it’s just my natural charm,” he couldn’t help but reply.

“I’m amazed, really,” she concluded.

“Hum…” the kid started shyly, bringing the cop’s attention back to him. “Can you show me a new magic trick today?” he asked with a hopeful look.

“Kaoru, don’t disturb the customers. Adachi-san isn’t here for that,” Iwai finally intervened, his expression a lot softer than his stern words.

“Sorry,” Kaoru apologized with a disappointed pout.

“It’s okay,” Tohru declared, glad to see that his earlier training would be put to good use. “I’ll try to come up with something once there are less people around. I don’t want to disturb the other clients, and I need a new model myself, anyway.”

“Wait, you do magic tricks too?” Chiba blurted. “I feel like I’m learning more about you today than I did in the past few months altogether!”

“I am full of surprises,” the sergeant replied with a somewhat nervous laugh.

“I’d love to see it too!” she declared with a genuine, enthusiastic grin.

Somehow, the idea displeased Tohru. After all, if she tagged along, he wouldn’t be free to act as he pleased with Iwai.

_He couldn’t let anyone know about it!_

Luckily for him, her phone rang soon after that and she announced with a sorry look that she had to run to see her boyfriend.

“You’ll show me next time,” she decided before leaving.

Knowing that he’d initially learned tricks to impress girls, it seemed pretty weird for Tohru to feel so relieved when the only woman who was interested in them had to leave. But at least now, he wouldn’t risk having his hands tied, he concluded, smiling to himself as he started looking for an interesting model, patiently waiting for the other customers to leave as well.

He selected a few that he liked and, since the retailer wasn’t needed anywhere else, he asked Iwai for advice to make his final decision. They started debating seriously about which would be best with the new barrels the retailer received recently, until they were interrupted by a conversation at the checkout.

“It’s okay, we can wait,” one of the clients said.

“Maybe I can do it? I saw Dad do it before. And I’m good at math,” Kaoru replied shyly.

Iwai sighed, hiding behind the peak of his cap in a vain attempt to hide the fond smile that had flourished on his lips.

“I’m coming, don’t worry about it Kaoru,” he announced.

“Don’t mind me, I’ll make my final decision while you take care of them,” Tohru offered.

He had already decided anyway, but he was grateful for the opportunity to “naturally” be the last customer left.

The others walked out after paying, and as soon as Iwai took his own purchase from the display case and brought it to the checkout, Tohru leaned on the counter and remarked with a smooth smile:

“So, it’s just the three of us left now…”

Kaoru giggled, trying to hide his fits of laughter behind his book. Adachi’s attitude had changed completely from the moment the other people left, and the way he was acting and talking all casually to his dad was really funny!

“What’s so funny, Kaoru-kun?” the man asked.

Surprised and a bit ashamed, the boy explained:

“It’s just the way you act. It changed all of a sudden! You weren’t like that when there were other people.”

“There’s a very simple reason for that, you know,” Adachi replied, leaning just a bit closer to him, as if he was going to share a secret with him. “You see, I can only act like this around people I like a lot.”

Kaoru gasped. Did that mean that he liked him a lot? And his dad too?

“But that’s a secret, so don’t tell anyone, okay?” the magician finished with a wink.

The boy nodded vigorously, barely noticing his father sighing next to him.

“Now, do you want to see a new trick? I just discovered something interesting about the disappearing coin from yesterday.”

“Really? What it is?” he asked eagerly.

“Actually, I think it’s a travelling coin. You see, it disappears from one place,” Adachi explained as the coin disappeared from his hand, “and it reappears in another,” he finished before pulling it out from a pile of pamphlets on the counter.

Kaoru watched him play with the magical coin, entranced.

“I can put it in my left pocket, and it will appear in the right one,” the magician continued as he put a hand in said pocket.

He searched the other and looked surprised all of a sudden. Then, he said with a confused look:

“Well, or not. Travelling coins always do as they please.”

He sighed and scratched his head with his left hand. His face changed suddenly, and he pulled the coin from it.

“Ah, there it is!” he exclaimed joyfully. “I was afraid you’d stop taking me seriously if I lost it.”

Delighted, Kaoru giggled.

“Now, let’s see if I can go even further. I’ll put it in my hand like this, and close it. Now look at it and don’t blink! You’re ready? Focused? So, how many coins are there in my hand?”

“One?” he replied hesitantly.

“Wrong!” Adachi said with a triumphant look as he opened his empty hand.

He then looked up at Kaoru’s father and asked him to check on his cap. His dad bowed his head and something fell in his hand. It was the coin!

The boy cheered as the magician bowed dramatically. He was really happy that Adachi had said he liked him. Kaoru liked him a lot too!

.

“Dad, welcome home!” was the first thing Mune heard as he stepped inside the apartment.

That was always the best part of his day. An immediate reminder of why he was still doing that shitty job.

“I’m back,” he replied, taking off his shoes.

He turned around to see his son waiting for him on his usual spot by the living room door. He walked toward him and ruffled his hair affectionately before greeting Sayoko, who was back from her recent trip.

She took her leave soon after, and the first thing Kaoru asked after she walked out was:

“Did you see Adachi-san today? Did he show you a new trick?”

Really, Mune couldn’t believe that this was his life now. His kid had stayed home for the last three days, ever since his babysitter came back, and all he was talking about was Adachi and how he wanted to see him again. To think that the retailer used to believe that he’d calm down after he stopped bringing him to the shop…

Actually, the same could be said about Adachi himself. The first thing he asked when he came three days ago was:

“Is Kaoru gone already?”

Apparently, he’d learned a new trick just for him, and Mune could have sworn that the big book he noticed in his shopping bag the day before was about magic. It seemed that Kaoru’s feelings were reciprocated, and the retailer didn’t know what to do with the information. Of course, almost all of the regulars he’d seen during that time asked the same question, but the boy didn’t seem to care about any of them. And none of them really paid attention to him after the first couple of days, anyway.

“You should invite him here someday,” Kaoru affirmed at one point.

When his father refused, the kid kept insisting that he was Mune’s friend. ‘Our friend’ he said, to be precise. As if he could be friend with a cop…

 _You’re playing along with his little game though…_ his reason reminded him. _It’s a dangerous one, and you’ve lost already._

Anyway, the retailer didn’t know what the fuzz had done to his shy boy to make him so infatuated, but it seemed that he wasn’t going to hear the end of it…

.

When exactly did Tohru start watching videos and tutorials of magic tricks daily? And how did he reach the point where he’d buy a book dedicated to coin tricks?

He didn’t know but somehow, he didn’t dislike it. It was something fun to do when he couldn’t work on a new model gun. Sure, it enhanced his fidgeting habit, which annoyed Masanobu to no end, but even that was a good thing! After all, the cop _loved_ to annoy his _senpai_!

_But wouldn’t Kaoru get bored after a while? Would he like card tricks better maybe?_

Tohru sighed. It didn’t matter anyway, because the kid wasn’t coming to the shop anymore. His summer vacation would end in a few days, and it wasn’t like Iwai had planned to bring him to work again any time soon.

Which was good. Of course it was good! Now the cop could start flirting freely again. He didn’t miss the brat! He shouldn’t miss him. “You know Iwai-san, I’m usually not big on kids but yours is really adorable!” was the kind of stuff he said to flatter the shop owner, not because he thought so!

Anyway, he’d find another use for his newly learned tricks. For now, it was time to get back to a more normal relationship, and maybe if the kid did his job properly, Tohru would soon ~~make Iwai fall in love with him~~ get access to Iwai’s famous special menu!


	7. This Is Not a Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I almost forgot because of my busy weekend but here is the new chapter!  
> Note that they start getting longer from here, but not by much.
> 
> Today, Tohru invites Mune out. Time to see if Kaoru has done his job!
> 
> Enjoy!

Fall soon came to the rhythm of boring cases and fun flirting with ~~Mune~~ Iwai, and fortunately for Tohru, the retailer’s level of warmth remained unchanged, even with the dropping temperatures. Another thing that didn’t change, despite the sergeant’s best hopes, was his crush on the other man. The only improvement was that he could now live with it, and it didn’t disturb his work like it did when it started.

_Except in times like now, but it wasn’t like he had anything better to do at the moment anyway._

He looked at the time and let out a disheartened sigh. If Masanobu didn’t come back soon, he’d sure die of boredom here! And then, it would be too late to go to Untouchable and–

“What are you doing Adachi? You don’t look like you’re working,” his _senpai_ ’s voice suddenly interrupted.

The sergeant almost jumped out of his chair, but he managed to look mostly undisturbed as he replied that all his work was done “and since I was bored and you were so busy ~~being a stupid servant of Justice~~ outside, I thought I’d take care of yours.”

That was another thing that didn’t change with the season.

_If only that guy could just get killed in service. Oh, how Tohru would laugh if that happened… He’d probably laugh himself into the New Year._

At least, the good news was that he’d soon be free to see Mune! No, to see _Iwai._ He should really stop calling him “Mune” in his head; that was a dangerous habit! If he kept doing that, it might slip in a real conversation someday, and then Tohru would be in all kinds of troubles, since the retailer never gave him permission to do so and, more importantly, never gave him the information in the first place. Which meant that he’d suspect the sergeant did research on him, and then winter would come back to the shop forever before the cop had time to find a good explanation!

_The nickname sounded great though. And pretty cute… It was a nice contrast with the retailer’s surly personality._

Anyway, it was really not a good idea. Iwai should stay “Iwai” until further notice, Tohru decided for maybe the tenth time this week.

.

The cop took a deep breath as he stepped inside the shop, and he smiled. He didn’t know at which point he had started associating the smell of dust, filed metal and plastic to home, but that was how he felt every time he came in.

As per usual, he started shopping normally (or looked like he did, at least) until the other clients left, and he only walked toward the counter after their departure. Mune sighed:

“You never give up, do you?”

Tohru grinned. It was hard to take the other seriously when he had this tiny smile he tried so hard to repress.

They kept talking for a moment. The sergeant didn’t have much effort to make to keep the conversation going these days.

_It was pretty relaxing, actually. So much different from the interactions he had with basically anyone else, and which never failed to leave him annoyed and tired…_

“Hey, why don’t we have a drink after work sometime?” he suddenly heard himself asking.

Iwai was taken aback. Tohru could understand. He was taken aback too.

Of course, that was something he’d wanted to do for a while, but he never thought he’d ever have the guts to actually ask! Especially like that, out of the blue. That was a mistake. There was no way the other man would ever accept this, and he had to back off now if he didn’t want all of his hard work to go to waste!

“You know I have to go home in the evening. I can’t keep Kaoru waiting,” Mune explained calmly, to the cop’s surprise. “And Sayoko,” he added after a pause.

Well, he took that a lot better than the sergeant would have expected. It was the easy way out, and he didn’t seem too angry, so maybe Tohru didn’t ruin everything, for once.

“What about a morning coffee? I usually have some time between dropping Kaoru to school and opening the shop.”

Wait, did those words really come from Mune? Was his crush the one who actually offered an alternative to…?

_What?!_

“Sure! That sounds great! I have to start early tomorrow, but the day after should be fine!” Tohru replied hastily, just in case the other changed his mind if he made him wait for too long.

He was so shocked and pleased that he even forgot for a second how much he hated mornings—only one letter away from “mourning” after all—and how he’d been looking forward to getting up a bit later that day.

“Fine by me,” Mune shrugged. “There’s this diner on the main street. It’s quite full in the morning and no one ever asks questions. It’s pretty decent, too. How about we meet there?”

“Sure! What time? I start at half past nine,” Tohru explained, still unable to process the fact that he was actually talking about the details of a _date_ with _Munehisa Iwai_.

“Same here, and I’m usually at the shop at half past eight.”

“Perfect! I’ll see you there, then!”

They finished discussing the details and Tohru left soon after, still dizzy from shock and disbelief. He knew there was happiness somewhere under those two feelings, but he couldn’t reach it at the moment.

He felt like he was floating until he arrived at his place, and only then did it truly hit him that it was really happening: he had a date with Mune in two days! He let out a happy laugh and kept grinning all evening, feeling already that under all that joy was a gigantic lump of nervousness that would hit him sooner or later. But it was still buried deep enough and for now, the cop only wanted to enjoy the moment.

.

Mune had no idea why he accepted to have that morning coffee with Adachi. He knew he did it for fun at first, since it was obvious that the other didn’t expect a positive reply. To be honest, after seeing the guy being so confidant for the past few months, it was a nice change to see him so flustered and in shock. His face was so hilarious that the retailer even kept playing along afterward, since his idiotic customer clearly looked like he didn’t believe what was happening.

_And now he had agreed to see the man outside of work. Well done, Mune._

The shop owner sighed and decided not to dwell on it. After all, it wasn’t because Adachi had been ‘flirting’ with him for months that it had to be a date.

_Nah, just a casual, friendly moment … with a_ cop _!_

Okay, maybe _that_ was an issue. Still, they’d known each other for about a year now, and the other man hadn’t done anything to put him in trouble— _for now_. He even seemed so clueless sometimes that Mune even wondered if he’d get a hint if it hit him in the face… But more importantly, he seemed nice enough, talking to him was entertaining, and Kaoru liked him! He could at least give it a shot and see how it went, right?

Talking about his kid, the retailer wondered if he should tell him about it. The boy still asked about Adachi sometimes, after all. The “magician” had clearly left a strong impression on him. However, Mune knew that if he told him, he’d never hear the end of it. He’d better keep it a secret for the time being.

.

It was just a coffee, nothing too big, Tohru reminded himself for the umpteenth time since he got up an hour ago. He’d spent this whole time getting ready for his coffee with Mune, like a teenage girl on her first date. He would have to leave soon though, and his hair was still all over the place. He’d been to a hairdresser just the day before, for the first time since his high school graduation, and after just a night, it looked as messy as ever—the only difference being that it was a bit shorter. What a nightmare. He at least wanted _that_ to look proper…

As he realized that he’d be late if he didn’t go now, he tried one last time to flatten his wild locks a little, managed to reach a passable result, and felt them go back to their initial state the second he walked out of the bathroom. A quick glance at the mirror in the entrance confirmed his doubts and he left with a sigh, defeated by his own hair.

_At least now he was sure that no one would notice he had made an effort today…_

He reached the diner Mune had talked about with a solid fifteen minutes advance and cursed at the fact that he could have fought with his rebellious locks for a bit longer. He might even have won this time! He hesitated for a second before deciding to go in already, certain that the other man would most likely do the same.

He sat at a small table by the stairs, unable to let the relaxing atmosphere and cozy wooden decorations calm his nerves. He grabbed the menu and looked through it nervously. Now came a tough decision: tea or coffee?

Since he was going to the station right after, he might as well take a coffee. However, since he associated the drink with work so much, he might fall into a professional mindset, which wasn’t what he needed right now. Plus, it was supposed to be a nice moment, so he should probably go for tea. He liked it better, and he could always grab some coffee at work later on.

Just as he set his mind on brown rice tea, someone walked to his table and sat on the chair in front of him without a word. Tohru jolted and looked up to see Mune across the table.

“Morning,” the retailer said casually.

“Hi, Iwai-san,” the cop replied with a nervous smile.

His hair was a mess, he probably looked like shit, and there was no way out now. Good. That was no reason to stop breathing though, his lungs helpfully reminded him.

Iwai was smirking, obviously finding his nervousness hilarious, and he kept staring at him silently. He had apparently decided not to help him at all, and he probably regretted being here already. Perfect.

It took Tohru a while to notice that there was only one menu on the table and that it was still in his hands. He quickly handed it to Mune, muttering that he could have it since he had made his choice.

“I already know what I’m taking,” the shop owner replied.

Tohru put the thing down, feeling like an idiot. He then looked up and saw the other man still watching him silently, looking vaguely amused in a way that showed that he was, in fact, having the time of his life and was trying to hide it.

He wasn’t taking it seriously.

_Of course, he wasn’t taking it seriously, what else could Tohru expect?_

He gritted his teeth, swallowed his anger, and regretted it immediately as it was replaced with even more nervousness.

He had to find a topic of conversation.

“So let me guess, you’re going for coffee, right?” he asked casually, feeling like it was the lamest comment ever, but still a lot better than nothing.

“Aren’t you?” ~~Mune~~ Iwai asked in return.

“Nope, I’ll get myself some nice tea. Coffee is only for work,” Tohru explained.

Did he really say “work”? Could he have found a worse answer? He’d practically just told him “Hey I’m a cop, remember?”! Now Iwai was going to walk out, there was no doubt about it!

Fortunately for him, a waitress came to take their order before the other could leave. He couldn’t run away after ordering something, right?

_Do you remember his take on retail etiquette? Of course he can, and he will if he feels like you’re a waste of his time, so_ don’t fuck up now _!_

As the woman asked if that would be all, Tohru suddenly remembered that he hadn’t eaten anything since the night before, and his stomach panicked as it became conscious of its state of emptiness. Yet, he felt way too nervous to eat anything at the moment, and an internal battle soon started between his empty stomach and his knotted guts. He replied that it would be all for him before the fight reached its conclusion, and Mune didn’t order anything else either. Now that Tohru thought about it, the man probably had breakfast with Kaoru earlier.

Kaoru… The kid could be a nice way to start a conversation! That boy was a real blessing, and the cop thanked him mentally before asking about him.

Of course, he should have expected that the other would be reluctant to reply. After all, it was personal information, and even though Tohru had met the boy and got along with him well enough to legitimately want to know how he did, that was still part of the topics that the retailer avoided to talk about at all costs. However, the sergeant managed to keep the conversation going until their order arrived.

As soon as he got his coffee, Mune grabbed the small sugar pack that came with it and poured it in. And since the single dose he got didn’t look like it was enough for him, he promptly dug two more from his pockets and added them to the mix, so focused on his task that he didn’t pay attention to anything else.

Strangely enough, looking at this rough man gruffly sweetening his drink was one of the most adorable things Tohru had ever seen, and he couldn’t repress a soft smile at the sight. The retailer even let out a disappointed grunt while he searched his pockets for more and couldn’t find anything. The sergeant didn’t think twice before offering his, sliding it to the other side of the table without a word. Mune gave him a questioning look, and the cop just said with what he hoped was a detached shrug:

“You can have it.”

The other thanked him with a tiny, grateful nod, and grabbed it. Had Tohru’s hand still been on it, their fingers would have brushed.

_Dammit, why did he have to move it?!_

In any case, this small offering seemed to break the last of Mune’s resistance, and the rest of their time together was way more relaxed. Such a shame it had to be so short…

.

If there was something Mune didn’t like, it was lying to Kaoru. Of course, he had to do it a lot, since their entire relationship was built on a lie, but it didn’t mean that he enjoyed it. He just didn’t have a choice if he wanted his kid to live the normal life his father wished he had when he was young.

Anyway, if there was something Mune didn’t like, it was adding small lies to the big one about Kaoru’s origins and his own past. He avoided it whenever he could, and he had sincerely hoped that he wouldn’t have to do anything to hide what happened with Adachi that morning. So obviously, the boy chose that specific day to ask for the first time in two weeks:

“By the way Dad, did you see Adachi-san today?”

Mune repressed a sigh and replied easily, ashamed and almost scared of how naturally the words came out of his mouth:

“Yes, but we didn’t talk much.”

No, of course they didn’t. It wasn’t like he’d spent about an hour alone with him outside of the shop, doing exactly that.

He wondered how the kid would react if he knew about that, and how jealous he would be that his father had his beloved Adachi all to himself for a while. Or how excited he would be if he knew that their conversation mostly revolved around him. The retailer really didn’t want to know though, so he’d have to sprinkle a few more half-truths and blatant lies on top of the pile, hoping it wouldn’t crumble this time either.

He quickly changed the subject and grabbed a lollipop, ignoring the boy’s disapproving look.

Most people assumed that he got this habit after he quit smoking and mostly, they were right. Plus, his current life was more suited to the sweetness of candies than the stench of tobacco. Still, sometimes, Mune wondered if he didn’t crave the sugar to cover the bitter taste that all the lies left on his tongue.

.

It took all of Tohru’s courage to dare asking Mune ~~on another date~~ if he’d be up for another morning drink with him.

_It was not a date, he should remember that._

Contrary to the first time where the words came out on their own, for his second attempt, he had plenty of time to think about all the possible ways the man could reject him. The cop even vaguely remembered having a nightmare about it, and he’d spent most of the day rehearsing in his head, filling the forms and taking depositions mechanically. None of his colleagues seemed to have noticed anything wrong with him though, so it probably didn’t interfere with his job, which was good.

Actually, he did so well that at one point, some woman filing a deposition interrupted his train of thoughts to ask if he was even listening, and he managed to prove her that he was by reading what he’d been writing for the past ten minutes. He hadn’t registered a single word, too lost in his thoughts about Mune telling him he had a horrible time at the diner and refusing to see him ever again, but apparently, his hands had moved on their own the whole time, and he’d typed the deposition perfectly. The woman’s face when he repeated everything she had said was truly the highlight of Tohru’s day.

Or it would be, unless Mune actually accepted to go on that ~~date~~ morning drink with him in three days, in which case everything else would immediately become irrelevant.

The sergeant was wrong when he thought starting a normal conversation with the retailer would help him calm his nerves. It actually made everything worse, because it never seemed to be the right moment to bring up the subject.

“Hey, um… Remember that drink from last week?” he squeaked after a blank of more than five seconds, indicating that the current conversation was officially over.

_He knew that, he had even counted in his head._

“What about it?” Mune asked casually.

“That… That was nice, right? And I’m free on Friday so I thought…”

Tohru had hoped that he could get away with not finishing his sentence, but it seemed that the other had decided not to make things easy for him. The sadistic bastard even looked like he enjoyed seeing him struggle so much.

“So I thought maybe we could do that again?” he managed to utter with a strangled voice.

The retailer didn’t reply immediately, taking his sweet time to see him suffer.

_Why did Tohru like him again?_

“So in three days, huh…” he said slowly.

Tohru nodded anxiously, and of course, some customers chose that exact moment to barge into the shop uninvited.

In Mune’s opinion, these people couldn’t have come at a better time. Adachi looked like a deer caught in the headlights for a second, and he apparently had no idea what to do with himself now. Had it not been for the customers, the retailer would have burst into laughter already.

“I… I’ll go now,” the other then muttered with a dejected look.

He walked toward the door and before he could leave, Mune called him and announced:

“Don’t forget that your order will be here on Friday.”

Given the ecstatic grin that appeared on his face and the enthusiastic nod that followed, the idiot got the message.

“I’ll make sure to be here!” he exclaimed before leaving the shop like a cheerful tornado.

.

As Mune could have expected, Adachi was as nervous now as he was the first time. Maybe the fact that he didn’t do anything to help played a role in that, to be fair. But it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal anyway, so it was the guy’s fault for taking it so seriously. Plus, the retailer liked seeing the other all flustered.

The way he was fiddling with the napkin; how his eyes searched the room whenever he tried to find something to say, as if the answer was lying somewhere around them; how he avoided making eye contact when they weren’t talking; his desperate expression when there was a blank in the conversation that lasted slightly too long… That was like candy to Mune’s eyes. And he loved candies.

He had never thought of himself as a sadistic person—there was necessary violence of course, but that belonged to his years in the yakuza and it was different anyway—but he took great pleasure in torturing the other like this. Plus, it would be boring if he made things too easy for him.

Adachi stared at his tea as if he could find the meaning of life in it, and slowly took a sip. Then, his eyes averted to an American couple talking loudly at a table near theirs, and he seemed to focus on them for a moment before commenting:

“I haven’t heard English in a while, I think I’m starting to forget it…”

“You speak English?” Mune asked, surprised.

Of course, every Japanese kid learned English these days, but actually speaking it was another story altogether.

“When I started working, my colleagues used to think of me as a specialist in lost tourists, so I had plenty of chances to practice,” Adachi explained before letting out a nervous laugh and looking away with a guilty expression, like every time he mentioned something about his work.

It was true that Mune used to react badly whenever he was reminded of the other’s job. But nowadays, it didn’t disturb him as much. He was starting to see beneath the man’s position, and to be honest, he didn’t know if he liked that. However, he couldn’t deny the fact: it was becoming harder and harder to simply hate him.

In any case, Adachi quickly regained his composure and added:

“Did I tell you about that time a teenager travelling with his parents tried to ask his way, talking like a fanservice anime girl?”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I tried to reply in English, but he insisted on speaking Japanese until his parents intervened. His anime girl language was flawless though. The only thing missing was the sound of bouncing boobs…”

“I can see you’re a specialist in that kind of anime…” Mune noted with a smirk.

Adachi jumped.

“What? No! It just … comes up on TV sometimes!”

“Sure,” the retailer replied, perfectly unconvinced.

“A-anyway! There was also that time an old lady kept correcting me on my pronunciation for half an hour and ended up complaining because she was going to be late for her show.”

“What did she want?”

“I can’t remember, probably asking her way or something. That’s what I got the most. But this lady obviously wanted to talk. Why else would she spend so long trying to make me pronounce the ‘th’ sound properly?”

“That wouldn’t be surprising if she was a teacher.”

“True. Or a speech therapist. She explained me in great detail how exactly I should position my tongue against my teeth to make the various sounds. She kept trying to make me repeat sentences about thoughts and thieves. That was a weird conversation…”

“Did it stick though?”

“I don’t know, maybe? Should I go to these people and tell them ‘These seething thieves fought and thought they were thrilled’ to see how they react?”

“Be my guest, but if you do, remember that I don’t know you,” Mune announced with an amused expression.

“I won’t then,” the other shrugged. “You’re more important than any perfect English pronunciation in the world, Mun- Iwai-san.”

“‘Mun’?” the retailer asked suspiciously as he recognized his usual nickname, that Adachi wasn’t supposed to know about.

“M-masanobu! I almost called you ‘Masanobu-san’, that’s the name of my colleague. I don’t know what got into me; you’re nothing like that asshole. I guess I see that guy too much,” he explained with a guilty look.

Tohru laughed nervously after his lame explanation, glad that he could come up with something so quickly.

_He knew calling Iwai “Mune” in his head was a bad idea!_

If the retailer found his behavior suspicious, he didn’t act on it and simply grunted with a frown that disappeared soon after Tohru asked him if he’d ever travelled outside of the country. The conversation then naturally shifted to his own trip to Korea. _“Crisis averted,”_ he thought with a mental sigh as he told Iwai about the shooting ranges there and the shady gun enthusiast he met and who showed him all the best places.

.

Apparently, asking Mune out a third time was a lot easier for Adachi than it was the second. Why the retailer accepted so easily however, he didn’t know. Still, he had to admit that he was enjoying their time together. The man was very entertaining and all in all, he was good company. Plus, Mune thought that the guy deserved a bit of a reward for his amazing tenacity. This time however, he had decided to go for a lunch in the back of the store instead of a morning coffee. The retailer didn’t want to be seen alone with him too often, and that would be an interesting change of pace.

There was no one when Adachi arrived, and the shop owner motioned him to hurry behind the counter before someone came. He then put a few things in order and put the “closed” sign on the door before joining him there.

The other was already settled with a store bought meal and a can of soda, and Mune quickly opened his own lunch box, revealing a bunch of octopus-shaped sausages.

_Of course, the one time he cut them all like that without thinking had to be today…_

He sent the fuzz a nasty glare, daring him to laugh or comment on his cute lunch, and he muttered “Enjoy your meal” quickly before digging in.

“You made this yourself?” the other man asked with an impressed look.

“Yeah. I can live on store bought food, but that wouldn’t be good for Kaoru so I had to learn how to cook.”

“It looks really good, I wish I could have food like that.”

“You don’t cook?”

“Not really. I don’t have time for that and I don’t care much about what I eat anyway,” Adachi shrugged as he put a piece of salmon in his mouth.

“I used to be like that,” Mune mused.

“Having a kid changes a lot of things, huh…”

“You have no idea,” he said with half a smile before grabbing another sausage.

Who’d have thought that the tough yakuza he used to be would become a caring father who cooked homemade meals for his kid and cut his sausages in octopus shapes? Had anyone told him that back then, he would have laughed before blowing a puff of smoke in the sucker’s face. And now, he couldn’t even do that, because the cigarette had turned into a harmless and unthreatening lollipop.

Kaoru had really turned his life upside down.

_He was even having lunch with a cop because of the brat, how unbelievable was that?_

As he put the octopus in his mouth, he noticed that said cop was staring at him, his empty chopsticks left midway between his lunch box and his mouth.

“Something wrong?” Mune asked with a frown.

“Nope, nothing!” the other exclaimed as he snapped back to reality.

Adachi started eating again and… Was that guy really blushing?

So he _was_ taking those non-dates seriously. Very seriously, it seemed…

The retailer didn’t know what to make of the information. Somehow, it didn’t bother him as much as he would have thought. He’d always suspected it, after all. Plus, he was probably getting too used to the situation to care. Or maybe he really didn’t mind…

He sighed as he got back to his own food. He’d think about it later.

“Kaoru is really lucky to have you,” the other commented once he was done eating, opening his can of soda.

“Why is that?” Mune inquired.

“You just … really seem to care about him.” He chuckled. “I’ve never had octopus-sausages for lunch.”

“Kaoru came home from school one day and asked me why he never had those and his friends did. I figured I could take ten seconds to cut them. It’s hard enough for him to only have one parent,” he explained, wondering why he felt so talkative all of a sudden.

“What about his mom?” Adachi asked, looking like he deeply regretted his question immediately after the words came out.

Mune sighed. They were having lunch together, and the other seemed to truly care about his kid. He could make an exception, this once.

“His parents died when he was a baby. He didn’t have any other family and I was a friend of theirs, so I took care of him,” he lied, like always.

It was one thing to feel closer to Adachi, and another to reveal everything about his shady past and Kaoru’s origins. He was a cop, after all, and no matter how friendly or cute he was, the retailer would never trust him enough to tell him the truth.

“That’s very honorable of you,” said cop replied.

Mune frowned at the choice of words. Most people would have gone for “nice”. Could he be suspecting something about his past? Maybe he knew already. After all, as a member of the police, he probably had access to such information. Was he trying to dig up stuff? Was it what this was all about?

He looked up to the other to see if something in his attitude was betraying his true intentions. The fuzz seemed unusually focused and was staring in his direction, yet his eyes weren’t fixed on the retailer’s face. Rather, he was looking intently at … his lunch?

Mune looked down to see that he only had one sausage left, and he couldn’t repress a smile as he understood what Adachi was so interested in. He took it with his chopsticks and raised it slowly, amused by the way the adult man’s eyes were following it.

“Is that what you want?” he asked with a smirk.

“Oh? Um… Well, it’s yours!” Adachi replied with a nervous laugh.

He had a hungry look, and there was a glint of hope in his eyes.

Mune considered the sausage for a second.

“Well… Too bad for you,” he shrugged before putting it in his mouth.

Adachi’s disappointed look made the food taste even better, and the shop owner took time to savor it, smiling all along. The other seemed so hurt and betrayed over this sausage… As he swallowed it, Mune had to repress a chuckle.

_It was adorable_.

_…and he absolutely didn’t think that._

“Something wrong, Adachi-san?” the retailer asked smugly, obviously very happy with his little prank.

Tohru tried to hide his embarrassment by taking a sip of his soda, unable to tell if he was ashamed of how childish it was for him to want an octopus sausage at his age, of being so excited at the prospect of trying Mune’s food, or by the effect the man’s attitude had on him. It took him all of his drink to calm down, and the retailer ate the rest of his lunch in silence, still smiling (which really wasn’t helping).

When the cop finished his soda, he checked the time on his phone and noticed with a sigh that he’d have to go back to work soon. Mune was pensively sucking on his freshly unwrapped lollipop when he told him, and before the sergeant left, the other man stopped him and said with an unsure look that didn’t suit his usual behavior, but still looked great on him:

“Hey, if we’re going to keep doing that, we should maybe stop calling each other by our last names.”

Tohru blinked a few times, trying to repress an excited grin. Was Mune really offering what he thought he was?

“When it’s just the two of us, I mean!” the other added quickly.

“Sure,” the cop agreed instantly, still unable to believe that it was really happening. “You can call me Tohru.”

“Tohru,” the retailer repeated slowly in a way that sent shivers down his spine.

He’d imagined a few times how great it would sound, but reality was even better, and he really should have recorded that.

“I’m Munehisa,” the other then declared. “But people usually call me Mune.”

_So he was right about the nickname. Good!_

“Mune,” Tohru said tentatively, enjoying the way he could finally say it out loud.

His smile kept growing as he realized how real the situation was, and he was grinning brightly when he announced:

“We should really keep doing that. I like it.”

Mune hummed in response, and the cop decided to take it as an agreement.

“See you, Mune-san!” he said before leaving, deciding that it sounded even better in a sentence.

“Bye,” the other replied.

Tohru waited for his name at the end of the greeting, and had to repress a sigh when he understood that it wasn’t going to happen. He walked out with a pout, but his disappointment didn’t last as he remembered that there would be other opportunities anyway. Mune had said that they could keep seeing each other like that. And he could now call him “Mune” as much as he liked. Sure, it was limited to times when it was just the two of them, but it wasn’t like he wanted the others to know. After all, he had never liked sharing.


	8. To Hell With It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know I'm a bit early but I was really excited to post this chapter! (and I'll be busy this weekend anyway)  
>  @BringingYaoiBack, this is for you. I hope you like it.
> 
> In today's chapter, Iwai is thinking about Adachi more than he should, octopus sausages are everywhere, and a lot happens.
> 
> Enjoy!

After a few more times seeing Tohru outside the shop (and damn did that name sound foreign to him, even now), Mune decided that he should probably start reintroducing him to Kaoru. The kid hadn’t seen the “magician” in a while and rarely mentioned him anymore, but since he was starting to take a bigger place in the retailer’s life, he felt like he couldn’t keep hiding him anymore. However, he didn’t want to do it all at once, or else the boy would probably understand that his father had been hiding things from him for all this time.

That was why, on that particular evening, after spending his morning with his flirty customer and then seeing him before closing the shop, he went for the euphemism:

“By the way, I saw Adachi today. He says hi.”

Kaoru seemed to take it calmly, but Mune noticed clearly the way his kid’s face had lit at the mention.

“So he hasn’t forgotten me?” he asked with a bright smile.

Mune couldn’t repress a chuckle at that. Obviously, Tohru hadn’t. He even confessed recently that he’d learned new tricks just for the boy and was sad not to have his favorite audience anymore.

“It seems so,” he still replied evenly.

He didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want to go too far for the first time.

“Next time you see him, tell him I say hi too,” Kaoru then said as he went back to his food. He paused for a second, grinned, and added more excitedly: “Did he show you new tricks?”

“He only does that when you’re here, you know.”

“Really? But that’s sad, he’s so good!” he exclaimed, still looking very pleased with the idea of being his sole audience.

Mune then decided that this conversation was starting to last for too long, and instead of replying, he diverted it by asking about his son’s homework. Fortunately for him, that seemed to do the trick, and Tohru wasn’t brought back up that evening.

.

Mune opened the fridge and stared at its content blankly. He would have thought that finding varied meal ideas would become easier with time, but it really wasn’t. The only good side was that he could now ask Kaoru for his opinion on the matter, but even that rarely helped, since the boy understandably didn’t keep track of the ingredients they had.

Now that he thought about it, the fridge and cupboards were starting to be a little empty. He should probably refill them, he thought as he took note of what was missing. Maybe he’d find an idea for dinner at the store. In the meanwhile, he put down everything he needed on a list, making sure to use clear handwriting, and called Kaoru to tell him he needed to go to the supermarket, asking him if he wanted to come along.

The kid didn’t reply immediately, and even ignored him when he called the second time. He often did that when he was too focused on something. In the end, Mune went directly to his room and found him absorbed in a book, as expected. He knocked on the open door to grab his attention, and Kaoru slowly raised his head.

“Sorry Dad, I wanted to finish my page first,” he said.

“So, are you coming or not?”

He nodded before marking his page and getting up. His father then handed him the list and asked him if he thought there was something missing. As he watched his son decipher his handwriting, he recalled how messy it used to be, before he decided to change it to make Kaoru read more.

_“Having a kid changes a lot of things, huh…”_ Tohru said in his mind. It was in moments like these that Mune realized how true these words were.

“I think it’s good,” Kaoru declared after a while, handing it back to his father.

“We’re going then,” he replied as he walked to the door, followed closely by his boy.

They reached the store fairly quickly and as they were grabbing what they needed, Mune asked:

“Anything you want for dinner?”

He knew the answer already, but Kaoru still took some time to think before saying:

“Something with soft tofu?”

Well, at least he tried to vary the types of tofu, Mune could give him that. Why the little boy liked tofu so much was beyond him, but it made it very easy to please him without worrying about his health, which was perfect because he almost always deserved a treat.

“We’ll have to go get some then,” he replied. “See if you can think of something more precise in the meanwhile, okay?”

Kaoru nodded happily as they grabbed the rest of what they needed. They soon reached the meat aisle, and Mune stopped in front of a pack of small sausages. He hadn’t had some in a while. Not since his first lunch with Tohru, actually. He smiled as he remembered the man’s envious look, and grabbed it without thinking. Then, he reminded himself that he wasn’t going to cook for that guy anyway, so he asked his son if he wanted that for lunch tomorrow. The kid approved of the idea, and the item was soon added to their basket. Before leaving, they made a stop at the candy aisle to refill the retailer’s stock, which was declining quickly. Then, once they had everything, they went to the checkout where the cashier, who was obviously new, smiled when she saw the sweets.

“Your daddy got you some nice treats, huh?” she said to Kaoru.

“Yes! He bought me soft tofu for dinner tonight!” the boy replied joyfully.

She didn’t seem to believe her ears, so she went back to work silently while her colleague, who had met the two of them already, snickered behind her. He’d fallen in the same trap the first time. Before they left, Mune heard him tell her solemnly that she had now passed her initiation rite, and he shook his head slowly at the words. He wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she was put on cashier duty just because they were here. They’d been coming to this place for a while now, and like it or not, people were starting to know them.

In any case, at least he wouldn’t have to come up with new meal ideas for a while now. Also, he’d have to remember not to cut all of the sausages this time.

.

Mune arrived a bit late to the diner that day, and Tohru was already waiting for him—not that it changed much, since the man always arrived before him anyway. When the other noticed him, a bright smile immediately appeared on his face, as if he didn’t expect him to come, and the retailer felt a hint of nervousness at that. It was yet another confirmation that the guy took it a lot more seriously than he should, or at least, more than he did when he first started his awful flirting. And as much as he liked the status quo, Mune knew that he couldn’t ignore it forever. However, since he was a bit of a coward when it came to facing the truth (not that he’d ever admit it out loud), he decided to keep acting like there was nothing for a little longer. Now wasn’t the time to ask himself how he felt about it, because he had a nervous not-really-date to play with.

_“You can’t keep acting like that though. Either you acknowledge it and have your fun flustering him, or you ignore it for real and don’t do anything about it,”_ the voice of reason warned him. It was completely right, but Mune wasn’t planning to listen to it this time either. Not when he could make the other man look elsewhere guiltily just by keeping eye-contact with him for a little too long. He’d lasted five seconds this time; that was a record!

By the time Tohru left in a rush to go to work, Mune had completely forgotten about his current dilemma. Again.

_“One day you’ll have to think about it on the spot, and then you’ll be sorry you didn’t do it before,”_ the voice of reason reminded him one last time.

The retailer sighed as he reached his shop. To be honest, the fact that Tohru was a cop wasn’t much of a problem to him anymore. Not ever since he’d started seeing the human being behind the fuzz. And the fact that he was a man … not so much either. After all, he was already aware that he liked men, and although he’d never had much time to act on it, he at least felt comfortable enough with his sexuality that this wasn’t an issue. No, the real problem here was… It was…

_That he felt like there was a difference between being on friendly terms with a cop and dating a cop?_

_That he didn’t feel ready to have someone important in his life beside Kaoru?_

_That he liked how easy their current relationship was and didn’t want to turn it into anything more complicated?_

_That he’d feel like an idiot for giving in after so much resistance?_

He was running out of tracer pellets, he noticed. He’d have to buy some more, and maybe check if there was anything else he should order while he was at it.

.

Mune was walking with Kaoru down a shopping street. Fall was in its advanced stage, and his son had grown out of most of his winter outfits already, so they needed to get him new ones. Neither of them really liked to go shopping for new clothes, but they had to take care of it before the weather got too cold.

“Dad, are we done yet?” Kaoru asked, an almost imperceptible whine in his voice.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there. We just need to find you some shoes and then we’ll be all set.”

“Good! Where are we going next? Can we play a game once we’re home?”

“Whatever you want. You did great today. You barely even complained.”

“I didn’t complain,” the kid pouted.

As he saw that, Mune felt a strong urge to ruffle his boy’s hair, but he decided against it and instead, he said with an amused smile:

“Sure, especially not when we were getting you a jacket, right?”

“But it was the tenth one already, and the woman was going to bring even more! The first one was fine,” Kaoru pointed out.

Mune couldn’t say anything to that. Truth be told, he’d been on the verge of snapping as well.

He was about to reply, but he suddenly noticed a scrawny man with messy short hair and an exceptionally disgraceful walk further ahead in the crowd. His mind immediately went to Tohru, and he felt a tinge of excitement at the idea. Worse, he had to refrain the impulse of calling him to check. However, the man turned around soon after to talk to his friend, and it obviously wasn’t him. Mune tore his attention from the stranger, feeling a pang in his chest that he had to admit was disappointment.

Why though? What would he have done if it had really been Tohru anyway? It wasn’t like he said hello to his other regulars when he saw them outside of his shop.

_Or when he saw them inside, to be honest. But he didn’t have a hot drink with them in the morning either, nor did he share his lunch with them._

“Dad? Did you see something?” Kaoru asked, tugging lightly on his hand.

“It’s nothing,” he replied as he snapped back to reality.

He then looked around and noticed the shop they’d been looking for. He walked toward it as he informed Kaoru that they had reached their destination, still intrigued by his earlier reaction. That kind of behavior… The excitement of seeing someone in the crowd, and the disappointment when it turned out not to be them… It wasn’t the first time, and the last person who had made him feel that way was…

Mune sighed. Now wasn’t the time to think about Tsuda.

.

Knife in hand, Mune was getting tomorrow’s lunch ready. Kaoru had asked for sausages, which was perfect since he was eating with Tohru that day. Maybe he should cut his own share in octopus shape too, just to see how envious it would make the other man? He smiled. That sounded like a good idea.

Or maybe he could share, for once? Tohru would surely be happy if he did.

_And that would give him yet another reason to hope for more._

Mune sighed and stared at the sausages blankly. Even if they were all cut, he’d still have the option not to give him any, he decided as he got to work.

Who would have thought that his first real moment of reflection about the relationship he had with his insistent customer would come while cooking lunch for his son and himself? He looked at the tiny octopuses as he stirred them in the pan, still wondering what he should do about them. It was just a sausage or two, he reasoned. It wasn’t like he was going to make him his own _bento._

_He could though. That man really had awful eating habits, and he looked like he was constantly malnourished. … But there was no way he’d do that. He might have a soft spot for him, but that didn’t mean that he had to turn into a caring girlfriend. And did he really think “soft spot”?_

When he finally put everything inside his lunch box, Mune decided that he could offer him some tomorrow and see what he’d do from there. There was no point torturing himself over it, and maybe it was time he admitted that he really liked the guy.

.

Tohru had to run if he wanted to be at Untouchable on time. Yamada had kept him for no reason, and he had to find an excuse on the fly to avoid eating with her. After all, why would he lose his time with that woman when Mune was waiting for him?

Maybe he should text him to say he’d be late, since he got his number recently, he thought. He once had to cancel one of their morning ~~dates~~ casual drinks at the last minute because of an unexpected change in his shifts, and since he had no way of contacting the other, he had made him come to the diner for nothing. Contrary to what the sergeant expected though, Mune didn’t stay mad for long, and they had decided to exchange numbers to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Anyway, doing that meant he’d have to stop running, and if he managed to catch the train, he might just be on time! So of course, the damn doors closed right in front of him and he had to wait for the next one.

He sighed as he took out his phone and quickly wrote: “ill b l8 w8 4 me”.

Maybe the two 8 in a row were a bit too much… After all, even though Mune understood his texts perfectly, he still complained a lot about how lazy Tohru was. But it was too late to think about it now.

He managed to arrive only ten minutes late, and he had to force himself to walk to the shop, since running there and barging in out of breath would have made him look suspicious. Like always, the retailer sent him to the back storeroom and joined him there soon after.

“Seriously, two words with eight in a row? You’re breaking records in laziness here,” he said before sitting down.

“Yeah, I thought about it too, but it was too late already,” Tohru replied with an apologetic look.

“What kept you?”

“Did you miss me?” he asked with a grin.

“Just curious,” Mune shrugged.

The cop quickly explained that a colleague needed his help with something and of course, she had to ask just before lunch. They then opened their _bento_ , and the first thing Tohru noticed was that, again, the other had octopus shaped sausages. This time however, he didn’t seem to mind.

“Sausages again, huh,” he said nonchalantly despite how much he wanted one, still unable to tell if he was ashamed of himself for being so childish.

“Yes,” Mune replied calmly before he started eating.

Should Tohru offer to give him a bit of his omelet in exchange for a sausage? He wondered as he kept his eyes on the tiny red octopuses, glistening in the room’s light. That sounded like a fair trade, right? It was worth a try.

“Do you want one?” the other offered suddenly.

Tohru jolted. Did he hear that right?

“Uh… Sure, if you don’t mind,” he managed to reply casually. “Do you want something from mine maybe?”

Mune shrugged.

“I’ll be fine. After all, I never dreamed of an omelet _bento_ as a kid,” he teased.

That was low and unnecessarily mean, Tohru decided. However, he could take it if that meant realizing his childhood dream of eating an octopus sausage _and_ his more recent dream of tasting Mune’s cooking.

“Here,” the retailer said as he grabbed one with his chopsticks.

His hand was going in Tohru’s direction. Was he really planning to put it directly into his mouth? Was his teenage dream of being fed homemade cooking by ~~a cute girl~~ someone special going to come true as well?

To his disappointment, he simply put it in the sergeant’s lunch box. The cop barely repressed a sigh, and maybe he was pouting a little. However, his sad look was quickly replaced with a joyful one as he stared lovingly at the sausage on his lap.

_It was even prettier up close…_

He grabbed it gently and whispered a grateful and choked “thank you” before putting it in his mouth and closing his eyes.

It was soft and slightly salty. To be honest, it tasted … like a normal sausage. That wasn’t the point anyway. Tohru could feel the tentacles inside him, and that was amazing. He ran his tongue on the smooth surface, from the split part to the round tip, and down the length again, enjoying the texture and the slightly greasy taste. He then bit it, slowly at first, and then with more enthusiasm when he found his rhythm, letting the taste explode in his mouth as the juices squirted from the soft piece of meat. It was perfect. Tohru wanted more, but the pleasure soon faded as the little octopus turned into a paste in his mouth and he had to swallow it.

He reopened his eyes slowly under Mune’s intrigued stare, and simply said:

“It was delicious!”

“I didn’t do much,” the other shrugged.

The rest of their meal went very well, and Tohru couldn’t have been happier. Or at least, he thought he couldn’t be happier until Mune asked, soon before he left:

“By the way, are you still interested in the special menu?”

He said that casually, but the cop could feel that he was a bit tense. He gaped as he heard the words, unable to process them. He had completely forgotten about it but…

“Yes, of course!” he exclaimed once he regained his voice.

He clearly didn’t expect Mune to offer it himself, but it was all the more perfect!

“Good,” the other said. He paused for a bit, and then added with a stern look: “You better have the money though. Those guns are pretty expensive. Even more so than the normal ones.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Tohru replied with a nervous smile.

He didn’t have much, but he wasn’t planning to buy one every day either. Plus, he didn’t spend his money on anything else anyway.

“I’ll also need some warranties,” Mune continued. “This stays between us. You’re probably aware that I offer that to other regulars, but I’d rather you didn’t talk about it between you either. I don’t know who told you, but they should have kept their mouth shut.”

“Sure, whatever you want.”

Tohru would have been ready to accept anything. His other, more recent dream was finally within reach! He didn’t know what he did to deserve so many blessings today, but it was very suspicious. However, it was also only fair, after all those years of working hard for nothing. Maybe it was his reward for that?

“Also, if I see cops around here again, I’ll assume that it’s your fault and I won’t want you coming back ever again.”

“No problem, I’ll keep them at bay,” he accepted immediately.

He didn’t know how he’d do that yet, but it should be manageable.

“Fine. It’s a deal then,” Mune concluded with a grave nod.

Tohru nodded back happily.

“Come again when you have time and I’ll tell you what I can do in more details,” the retailer said before the cop went back to work.

Now, he really couldn’t be happier. It was about time!

.

Mune had no idea why he’d brought up the special menu all of a sudden. He knew it felt like the right thing to do back then, and he had a general idea of what motivated this decision, but two days later, now that Tohru could come at any time, he was starting to doubt himself. However, it was too late to change his mind. What could he do now anyway? Tell him “Sorry but I don’t trust you after all”? Throw him out of his shop altogether? Act like he’d never said that and had no idea what his customer meant?

There was nothing he could do now, except stick to the plan and hope for the best. After all, he had done that all his life and it had worked fairly well, for the most part. And if it didn’t… Well, what was the worst that could happen? He wouldn’t show him anything illegal anyway. Everything would be fine.

Just as he told himself that, the door opened and as expected, Tohru came in.* The newcomer took a quick look around the shop, just in case there was someone else, but before he finished, Mune greeted him:

“Hi, Tohru.”

“Hi, Mune,” he replied, smiling as he heard his first name.

Hearing it from the retailer’s mouth always made Tohru happy. It felt like coming home after a long day, and he loved that feeling. It even made him forgot what he was here for, for a second. Then, he remembered and started hesitantly:

“I’m here for…”

“The special menu, right?” the other asked.

Tohru nodded. Honestly, and despite all the progress he’d made with the shop owner recently, he half expected him to have changed his mind. He was really glad to see that the man hadn’t.

“Follow me in the back then, I’ll explain what I can do for you,” Mune declared as he went there, motioning for him to follow.

The sergeant took a deep breath, feeling a lot more nervous than he should. There was a reason why he had waited for two whole days before coming for his special model guns. At first, he just didn’t want to seem desperate. But then, doubt started creeping up until he found himself fearing that giving him access to the special menu was only a way for Mune to break all personal ties with him. He had to reason with himself for a while before finding the courage to show up, realizing that not coming at all meant breaking ties all the same, and the retailer would have all the more reasons to act like he had forgotten. In the end, he decided that he shouldn’t wait to take advantage of the man’s good mood. He did it for the gun, after all.

He did it for the gun.

With this in mind, Tohru followed the shop owner to the now familiar back storeroom, ready for anything. And of course, instead of telling him right away that whatever they had was over, Mune only started explaining what he could do exactly and how much it would be.

The good thing about it was that it immediately tore the cop’s mind off his gloomy thoughts, and he listened intently, asking a few questions now and then. After a moment of reflection, he made his choice and told the retailer what he needed. The other nodded gravely, told him the price of this specific order, and declared that he could still take some time to think about it and make sure it was what he wanted. After all, Tohru had said himself that he wasn’t going to buy them often, so he’d better make the right decision.

Once they were done discussing his customer’s future special model, the shop owner asked:

“Anything else with that?”

So he wasn’t going to throw him out of his life, Tohru realized. But he couldn’t be sure.

“Yeah, I’d like a kiss,” he replied without thinking.

He didn’t know who was the most surprised to hear that between Mune and himself, but at least if the other accepted, he could be certain that he wasn’t going to stop seeing him outside Untouchable, right? However, that could also give the man another excuse to break all ties with him; and not just the personal ones…

As he was starting to regret his impulsive reply, he saw Mune’s expression soften, turning into something more amused.

“Well, if that’s what you want,” he said with a low voice as he came closer, taking his lollipop out of his mouth.

_Was this really happening? It was happening right? What should he do?_

Mune’s calloused hand was on his cheek now, cupping it gently. For the second time since he’d met him, Tohru wondered how that man could feel so tall even though they were almost the same size. Plus, he really hoped the hand on him wasn’t too close to his jugular, because his heart was pounding fast and hard, and he didn’t want the other to know about it. His face was getting closer now, and Tohru figured that it was probably the right time to close his eyes.

_Not that he knew anything about it. But it was happening now. If he had known it would be so easy, he would have asked a long time ago._

He didn’t know how ready he was when their lips finally met, after what felt like an eternity where he had all the time in the world to tell himself that probably, this wasn’t happening and Mune would just step back and laugh at him for being so flustered. But instead, he was just being kissed, the cherry taste just as strong as he had imagined, the man’s lips just as rough, and he had no idea what to do. He still decided to respond tentatively, because screw his heterosexuality, he really wanted to do this.

He pressed himself closer as he tried to follow the way Mune moved his lips, which was a lot harder than stories and movies made it look like. However, it didn’t seem to faze the other who simply wrapped his left arm around him, holding him tight. Tohru let out a sigh of content, and let his hand wander behind the other man’s neck, deepening the contact even more.

They broke the kiss soon after, and he opened his eyes slowly. As he met the other’s gaze, so soft compared to what he was used to, he couldn’t refrain from licking his lips, enjoying the way they now tasted like Mune’s, sweet and cherry flavored. He smiled.

“I guess this means you’re not throwing me out then,” he let slip.

“What?” the retailer asked with a confused frown.

“I-it’s nothing! Don’t mind that.”

“Fine,” Mune shrugged, still looking pretty amused.

“If I’d known for all this time that all I had to do was ask…”

The other chuckled softly.

“I wouldn’t kiss anyone who asked though. You’ve worked hard for this.”

The retailer probably had no idea of the effect those words had on Tohru. He’d worked hard… And he got what he wanted… So it worked sometimes! The cop could feel sparkles in his eyes as he heard that.

“Now, where were we?” the other continued.

Tohru melted at the sight of his smile, and the prospect of another kiss. He had no more idea what to do with himself than last time, but he still felt a lot less stiff against the shop owner, and he didn’t have to be asked twice when Mune nipped his lower lip gently. He opened his mouth and drowned in the taste of sugar, cherry, and faint coffee. The man’s thumb stroked his cheekbone, and Tohru could smell metal and plastic on his hand; the smell of home.

Sure, Mune still wasn’t a hot chick, but… Well, he could do with it for now. And even though they still didn’t feel natural, he was starting to really like kisses.

The shop’s bell rang suddenly, startling the both of them.

“Is anyone here?” some guy asked from the entrance.

Mune cursed under his breath as he let go of the sergeant.

“I’m coming,” he announced.

He then turned back to Tohru and told him to wait here while he took care of that. He kissed him briefly before leaving, a silent promise of more to come, and walked out with his lollipop back in his mouth, leaving the cop alone and empty. He licked his lips again, but it wasn’t the same. He missed the other man’s touch already.

_But it didn’t matter because there would be more, sooner or later. He didn’t know how he did it exactly, but he’d managed to have both the modified guns_ and _the man who made them! Nice job, Tohru!_

He sat on the chair and waited for Mune to come back, a victorious smile on his lips.

* * *

 

*Of course, there had been a few false alarms, but those didn't count.


	9. Kaoru & Chill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I can't believe it's been two weeks since the last chapter, and yet...
> 
> Today, Kaoru keeps campaigning for Adachi and learns new words!
> 
> Enjoy!

Were Mune and he dating now? Were they not? After what happened (meaning: their first kiss), Tohru didn’t know. More importantly, he couldn’t tell whether or not he _wanted_ to know. On the one hand, the cop wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of officially dating a man, even though he was really into the whole kissing and making out in the back of the shop whenever possible thing. On the other hand, he clearly didn’t like the idea of not being special. Plus, if they weren’t dating, then what were they doing? They met in the morning for a hot drink and they ate lunch together pretty often, they kissed, and Mune had even started making bigger lunch boxes to share some with him sometimes!

_They were delicious, and Tohru felt so blessed to be able to eat them. The other man always said it was because he pitied his store-bought stuff, but the reason didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was the free food and the person who cooked it._

Still, were they dating now or weren’t they? Now that Mune had him pinned against one of the shelves in the storeroom, he wasn’t sure it mattered. And he was way too busy to ask anyway. The retailer currently had his hands traveling along Tohru’s body, his head buried in the crook of his neck, his stubble prickling yet not unpleasant against his skin, just like the cop had imagined, although a bit more prickling.

“You seem way too used to this,” he heard himself say.

He didn’t know if his tone sounded accusatory or teasing, but the other man stopped what he was doing to look at him intently, as if he was studying his expression to see what it meant.

_It was still a bit weird to see him without his cap and ear mufflers… He loved it!_

“What if I am?” he asked with a look that could either be smug or defensive.

“Nothing. I was just… Noticing,” Tohru managed to reply hesitantly.

He himself had no idea where this came from.

“Aren’t you?” Mune asked again.

That wasn’t fair, the cop thought.

“Sure! I’ve been with … people … before.”

_That was a lie._

“’People’, huh?” the other repeated with a smirk, clearly making fun of him for his reply and enjoying every second of it.

“It doesn’t matter, I shouldn’t have asked,” Tohru said quickly, trying to cut the conversation short.

“Fine by me,” the retailer shrugged before going back to what he was doing.

However, it was too late already. The sergeant’s curiosity had been piqued, and he couldn’t help but remark:

“You’ve never told me anything about your past.”

Maybe that was a bad idea, he realized when the other stopped to stare at him again, this time with clear disapproval.

“What do you want to know that for?” he asked defiantly.

“Nothing! It’s just…”

Tohru didn’t know how to explain it without putting a word on what they’d been doing. The only thing he knew for sure was that learning about the shop owner’s past would mean that he was special, and for some reason, he really needed a proof of that now.

He bit the inside of his mouth and looked down sadly, unable to find the words to explain that without seeming too desperate (which he wasn’t! … Or maybe he kind of was).

Mune sighed, and when he looked up, the cop saw that his expression had softened a little.

“Fine. What do you want to know? I can’t guarantee a reply but…”

“What were you doing before you took in Kaoru?” he asked without hesitation.

He knew the answer to that question already, but he was also aware that it was probably the part the retailer was the most eager to hide. If he revealed it, then it would mean something, right?

“I was working at a shipping company,” Mune lied. Blatantly.

Tohru pursed his lips.

“You’re lying. I know you’re lying,” he said before he could stop himself.

_Time to find an explanation as to why he knew that. This would be so much fun!_

“Oh? And how can you be so sure about that?” the other asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I…”

_Okay, time for the half-truth._

“…I checked your file before Masanobu and I came to your shop the first time. He obviously didn’t, so I had to do it.”

“You did what?” Mune growled.

_This was going to be a disaster…_

“Look, I was only doing my job here!” _Bad idea, bad idea!_ “I had no idea things would turn out … this way!” the cop concluded, flailing his arms desperately at the last part because he was unable to find a proper word.

Would he get used to it soon, or would they need a serious discussion about their relationship, sooner or later? Given how things were going at the moment, it might soon become “murderer and murdered”; and Tohru wouldn’t be the living one.

He sent Mune a pleading look, hoping that it would convey some of his feelings.

_Which he truly had! Against his will, sure, but still._

“Fine,” the retailer sighed. “I’ll believe you on this. But Kaoru has no idea, and he can’t know about that. Is that clear?”

“I promise he won’t learn that from me. Directly or indirectly.”

The other man scanned him for a moment, and finally nodded. Tohru breathed again.

“I can’t believe you’d still want to be around me though, knowing who I used to be,” Mune declared.

“It never mattered. And I used to think yakuza were cool, when I was a kid,” the cop admitted with a sheepish smile.

That made the other chuckle.

“Why did you become a cop, then?”

Well, that was a tricky question, Tohru realized as he tried to find an acceptable answer. ‘I did it for the gun’ seemed a bit inappropriate, even for the owner of an airsoft shop. Or _especially_ for the owner of an airsoft shop. He wasn’t sure.

_He guessed it was time for half-truths again._

In the end, he settled for:

“I thought it would be more eventful than it actually is.”

Not very good, but still a lot better than the real answer.

“You’re still young and you’ve just started. Give it time,” Mune said before ruffling his hair in a patronizing way Tohru hated and kind of loved at the same time.

“Whatever,” he muttered.

_“Now where were we?”_ he wanted to say. But then, he looked at the clock, saw that his pause would soon be over and instead, he announced:

“I have to leave now. See you next time, Mune!”

He wondered if someday, the other man would stop him…

.

Kaoru wondered if his dad realized how much he talked about Adachi these days. Sure, he had started doing it more over the past few weeks, but it was always in a way that seemed controlled to him. Now however, the magician popped up in the conversation more naturally, or at least, he thought so.

“You should invite him here for dinner,” he suggested one day, when his dad was talking about him again.

They were both eating, and his father lowered his chopsticks slowly, looking at him as if the idea came out of nowhere.

“Why would I do that?”

“He’s your friend, right? So he should come over. That’s what you do with your friends,” Kaoru stated.

His dad’s expression softened gradually, and he muttered:

“You’re right, I guess he is now…”

He went back to his food silently, and the boy felt compelled to add:

“I want to see him too. I like him.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” his father declared with an amused smile.

Hearing that filled Kaoru with joy, and he grinned brightly as he finished his meal.

.

“You seem tense this morning. Something wrong?” Mune asked.

Tohru and he were currently enjoying their morning hot drink, and the cop hadn’t realized that his nervousness was showing.

“It’s nothing. I have to go to an elementary school this morning. It’s right around the corner, actually. Anyway, I’m just supposed to present our job and do a bit of prevention like ‘what should you do if someone is following you in the street?’ and such but still, I’m not comfortable with the whole thing.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t like giving speeches…” he muttered.

His sullen expression made Mune chuckle.

“Which school is it?” he asked.

“Uh… Shindou I think?”

Tohru didn’t ‘think’. He knew. He had made research and did everything he could to go to this particular school for a reason.

“Shindou? That’s Kaoru’s school!” Mune exclaimed with a surprised look. “He told me about it yesterday, but I would never have guessed that you’d be the one coming.”

“Really? I had no idea!” Tohru lied.

Of course he knew! He wouldn't have tried so hard to convince Masanobu to go there specifically for nothing. His _senpai_ had wanted to drag him to those things for a while now, so the sergeant figured that if he had to do this, he should make sure to go to a school with at least one decent kid. And since he only knew of one in the whole country, he naturally chose Shindou Elementary School.

He had made up statistics and fake reports where he took real events and blew them out of proportion to explain why it was the best choice in the area, and since the other idiot never read anyway, he trusted him on that. In any case, that guy just wanted to show off to a bunch of unruly brats, so any place would do for him.

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you,” Mune said. “Plus, you seem pretty good with kids, so you don’t have to worry. You’ll do great.”

_Actually, he was only good with one kid, and it was just a stroke of luck… Good thing Kaoru was the only one who truly mattered._

“Maybe,” the cop sighed. “And Masanobu will probably do most of the job anyway, since he loves these kinds of things so much.”

“He’s the one who came to the shop with you that day, right?”

“Yep, that’s him. Don’t worry though, he’s a lot nicer to kids. Or people he’s deemed innocent, which you didn’t belong to since he’s never heard of the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.”

“Well, I’m not surprised since…”

“Oh no, I’m pretty sure he hasn’t checked your file. Or anything, for that matter. He’d just heard a nasty rumor and had nothing better to do with himself. That’s the sort of things he does,” Tohru explained with a bitter look.

“He sounds like a pleasure to work with,” the other remarked.

“You have no idea…”

He then proceeded to tell Mune stories about his work with Masanobu until it was time for him to go. Ready or not, here he’d go, he thought wryly.

.

“Dad, you’ll never guess who I saw today!”

It was the first thing Mune heard when he came back home that evening. Only then did Kaoru stop to think and said “welcome home” more quietly.

“Who did you see?” he asked with a smile, knowing the answer already.

“Adachi-san! He came to my school!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, for that thing I told you about yesterday. Did you know he was a policeman?” Kaoru asked excitedly

“He mentioned that,” his father replied, remembering their first encounter.

“I thought he was a magician, but he’s both a magician _and_ a policeman! That’s so cool, right?”

For a second, Mune wondered how he would have reacted to that at his kid’s age. He had spent years thinking of the police as the enemy, but that was after he joined the yakuza, for the most part. Back when he was still young and innocent though, he would have probably found the idea of a cop-magician as awesome as his kid.

“I guess it is,” he agreed.

_He still had a very hard time associating Tohru with coolness though. “Awkward”, “kind of cute”, or even “endearing in his clumsiness” were probably more fitting. Even when he wasn’t acting like an idiot, there was still nothing cool about him. Not that Mune minded, of course. He was just being realistic here._

“What did he talk about?” he asked.

“He came with someone. They talked about their job, and then they told us what to do when something bad happens. I already knew that part though.”

Of course he did. As if his father would ever let him leave the house without knowing how to react to danger.

“Good. Did you learn something new?”

“Not really, but it was fun! Masanobu-san was a bit boring, but he’s really funny when he talks with Adachi-san. They were like a comic duo!”

Kaoru smiled as he said that, but it soon faded and he added with a sadder look:

“…I think he was a bit mean to him sometimes though.”

“Did you get to talk to him?” Mune asked to distract him from his grim thoughts.

“No. I really wanted to, but we couldn’t,” his kid replied, looking a bit brighter already. “By the way, you said you would invite him here. Did you?” he then asked with a hopeful look.

The retailer had brought this on himself, he thought with an inner sigh.

“Not yet.”

Kaoru seemed so disappointed by his reply that his father couldn’t help but add:

“I will though. I promise.”

_And now he was bound by a promise. Well done, Mune…_

He didn’t mind, though. It could be fun and anyway, Kaoru was right. It was normal to invite your friends to your place from time to time. Or whatever Tohru was to him that his kid didn’t have to know about.

.

Tohru was talking casually with Mune in the shop, taking advantage of the lack of customers. He was sharing his progress on his latest projects (one of his projects, actually; he didn't say anything about what he was doing to the model he got from the special menu), and the retailer was giving him a few tips or nodding approvingly to some of his ideas. It was nice to go back to those simple conversations, every now and then. Plus, the cop managed to sneak in a few questions regarding his secret project, and he got some valuable tips. His real gun was closer than ever!

“I’ll have to close the shop,” the retailer declared after a while. “Text me if you have other questions. I can’t guarantee that I’ll reply on the spot, but I will eventually.”

“Thanks! Say hi to Kaoru-kun for me!”

Tohru didn't know if the other really did it, but it had become a reflex. That being said, he had no idea how much of this was sincere and how much was simply a habit from when he was trying to reach Mune through his kid.

To his surprise, this time, instead of saying “I will” like usual, the shop owner remained silent. Intrigued, the sergeant stopped at the door, waiting for a reaction.

“Hey, would you like to come for dinner some time?” the man asked suddenly. He scratched his neck with an embarrassed look and explained: “Kaoru kept insisting after you came to his school, and I promised I’d ask so...”

The cop took a few seconds to process what had been said. Did Mune just invite him for dinner _at his place_? Well, there would be Kaoru but still, that was a big step! Actually, it could be seen as a big step _because_ there would be Kaoru, but since he had met the kid before… Anyway. It was something important, and apparently, it was happening. Right now.

_“If you give an answer, you moron!”_ he reminded himself.

“Sure!” he said right after. “When do you want me to come?”

“Well, I finish at the same time every day. You’re the one with a messy schedule. When is a good time for you?”

Tohru took a moment to think about it. He checked his phone’s calendar where he put his work hours, feeling like the overbooked businessman that he clearly wasn’t, and ended up telling him that since he didn’t have much work these days, it was probably safer to plan it soon, in case something big came up and he had to work late again.

“How about next Wednesday? I have the day off, so I don’t have to worry about when I finish,” he announced.

“Wednesday sounds great,” Mune nodded. “I’ll make sure to tell Kaoru.”

Like always whenever he made a step forward in his relationship with the shop owner, Tohru felt overjoyed when he walked back home. Nervousness would come after.

Also, he had to make sure to practice his magic tricks for Kaoru!

.

Tohru arrived earlier than expected, bringing with him his messy hair that he had failed to tame again, and a small cake. He didn’t know if he was expected to bring something or not, but he didn’t want to come empty handed. However, if he brought dessert and Mune didn’t open it right away, it would be really awkward if he bought three of something. Maybe chocolates were better, but they were way too expensive. In the end, he decided that cake was the best option. This way, they could either share it right away or eat it later on. This would be good.

But what if they didn’t like it though? What if Kaoru was allergic? With his luck, he’d reveal an allergy no one knew he had and end up in hospital, and his father would never forgive him for that.

_Maybe nothing would have been better, actually._

It wasn’t too late to throw away the cake, he realized. He was still in front of the entrance after all. But at the same time, it was a good cake. He didn’t want to waste it.

The sergeant took a deep breath and rang the intercom.

“Hello?” a child’s voice replied.

“Hi Kaoru-kun! It’s Adachi. Can you open the door please?”

“Hi Adachi-san! Sure!” the kid replied excitedly.

The door opened and Tohru went inside. He heard it slam shut behind him, and felt like he’d just walked into a trap. He took a deep breath.

_No turning back now. For better or worse, he would come with the cake._

As he knocked on the apartment’s door, the cop suddenly realized something important: he had no idea how he should call Mune in front of the kid! He had an immediate urge to run away, but it was too late for that already. The door was going to open any second now!

Kaoru opened to Adachi, since his dad was still busy in the kitchen. The boy was so excited to see him again after all this time! He wondered what kind of tricks the man would do this evening, and he couldn’t wait to see them! Maybe they would have time for it before dinner? But he shouldn’t be too insistent, he reminded himself. His dad had briefed him about that earlier*, and the child didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Adachi-san, welcome!” he said with a bright grin.

“Hey, Kaoru-kun. How are you?” the newcomer asked nervously.

He seemed a bit at loss about what to do, so Kaoru decided to help him. He was always like this too, when he came to his friends’ place for the first time.

“You can leave your shoes here, and hang your coat on the hangers there,” he instructed as he pointed to the various places. “We don’t have slippers, I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s okay. Thanks,” he said with a grateful smile.

It was then that Kaoru noticed the plastic bag the other was carrying.

“Is it for us?” he asked politely.

The man lifted it slightly, looking almost surprised, and confirmed that it was.

“You can give it to Dad,” the boy decided. “Also, I’m fine. And you?” he continued after the other had finished doing everything.

“Good, thank you. Where’s your dad?”

“He’s in the kitchen,” Kaoru announced.

He then took another moment to think. He didn’t know if he should tell Adachi to come in and say hello, or lead him to the table already. Also, how okay was it to leave their guest alone while he went there himself to ask?

Since they would have to walk past the kitchen to go to the living room anyway, maybe it was better to greet him on the way, he decided with a resolute nod.

“Follow me,” he said as he walked toward it.

His dad had closed the door because he didn’t want the frying smell of the _gyoza_ to spread in the whole flat, so Kaoru opened it and announced that Adachi had arrived. His father looked up from the frying pan and walked toward the entrance. The boy stepped aside to let him through while he greeted his guest.

“Hi, Tohru. I hope you didn’t have trouble coming.”

The child gasped as he heard him call Adachi by what he guessed was his first name. He had never done that before! The other man didn’t seem surprised, though. Instead, he looked quite relieved. Kaoru wondered why that was.

“Hello, Mune. It was fine. Oh, and this is for you. It isn’t much,” he announced, taking a package out of the bag and giving it to his dad.

“Thank you,” he replied with a nod. He then turned to the boy and asked: “Kaoru, can you show him to the living room? The food will be ready soon.”

“Sure!” he accepted gladly before going there, asking Adachi to follow him.

He told him that he could sit on the couch while they waited for his dad to come with the food. They both sat, and remained silent. Kaoru was wondering if he should offer him something to drink, and also how appropriate it would be to ask for a magic trick now.

As for Tohru, he was desperately looking for a conversation topic.

“So, Kaoru-kun. Hum… How’s school?” he asked hesitantly, slapping himself mentally for his lack of inspiration.

“It’s alright. Taro-kun tells everyone that he’ll join the police when he grows up now.”

“I guess my colleague has left a strong impression on him, huh,” Tohru mused.

“Yeah, but last time, the firemen came and he wanted to become a fireman. I don’t think it will last,” the kid said thoughtfully.

That made the cop chuckle.

“You didn’t tell me you were a policeman,” Kaoru continued in a more accusatory tone.

“I am also kind of a magician. And it’s way more interesting, don’t you think?”

“I guess so…”

“Police work is more boring than you think. Magic, however,” he said as he showed him his empty hand. “You can do this!” he exclaimed as he made a coin appear.

Kaoru applauded, delighted. He was so glad that he didn’t even have to ask! Adachi then did another trick, and the boy immediately noticed that they were even better and more complicated than he remembered. He made coins appear out of thin air, put them under a glass and made them go inside through the bottom, made them disappear in his hand and reappear in Kaoru’s pocket…

He was so entranced that he felt almost disappointed when his dad came in the room with the food.

“Sorry for the delay,” he said as he put everything on the table.

Tohru looked at the food, amazed. There were _gyoza,_ miso soup, pickled vegetables, and even tiny blocks of silken tofu. This was a feast. More importantly, it was a homemade feast. Made by Mune. He was almost tearing up as they started eating. Everything seemed delicious to him. And it was so balanced…

He said so to the cook, who simply mumbled that it was nothing. He seemed a bit embarrassed, and the guest found it adorable.

_The man couldn’t hide behind his cap this time, and now that he thought about it, it was the first time that the cop saw him without his long coat. The plain black turtleneck really suited him… But now wasn’t the time to stare._

All in all, the whole meal went really well. At one point, Kaoru’s love for tofu was revealed, and father and son told him about how the new cashiers at their usual supermarket always got confused when the kid told them his treat was the tofu, and the sweets were for his dad. It made Tohru laugh so hard that it was almost embarrassing. They ate clementines for dessert, still talking easily about things and others. The guest was feeling a lot more relaxed than when he arrived, and contrary to their first dates, Mune looked like he was really making efforts to put him at ease.

After a while, the retailer looked at the clock and turned to Kaoru, telling him that he should get ready for bed.

“Already?” the kid asked with a pout.

“It’s almost nine thirty. It’s later than your usual bed time, and we’ve already agreed to this,” Mune replied calmly.

“Alright,” the boy sighed before slowly getting up.

“Tell me if you need anything.”

Kaoru nodded and bid them goodnight before leaving the room. He was looking a bit tired already.

“Shall I go?” Tohru then asked, realizing that it was maybe what Mune expected from him.

“You can stay for a bit if you want,” his host shrugged.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude,” he insisted, still hoping that he could really stay for a little longer.

“I don’t have guests often. You can at least stay for tea, right?”

“Tea sounds great,” he nodded with a relieved smile.

“What do you want? I have green tea or brown rice tea,” Mune announced, keeping for himself the fact that he had bought the latter especially for him, since he almost always ordered it at the diner.

“Green tea please,” Tohru replied.

“I’ll go make some then. It will take a while though, so maybe you should come with me,” he offered as he started clearing the table.

He told his guest that he didn’t have to help when he saw him grab a few things, but he gave up when the other insisted. They’d go faster if they were two, after all. They managed to bring everything to the kitchen in one trip, and Mune told him where to put his share as he started making tea.

Once everything was taken care of and the only thing left to do was to wait for the water to boil, Tohru approached him tentatively. The retailer turned to him with a questioning look, and his guest said:

“I’m glad you invited me. It was nice.”

“Yeah, Kaoru was really happy to see you,” he replied with a shrug, not admitting that the kid wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

“And you weren’t?” Tohru teased.

“I see you almost every day after all,” he replied with the same tone. “But I guess it was a nice evening. We should do that again.”

His guest seemed surprised by the last sentence, but he soon declared with a pleased smile:

“I’d love to.”

He slowly raised his hand to Mune’s head, but he hesitated at the last moment. The retailer smiled and before the other gave up, he leaned in to kiss him. Tohru finally placed his hand behind his neck, kissing him back, but they were soon interrupted by the kettle. Stepping back with an amused look at the other’s disappointed pout, the retailer poured the water in the teapot and brought it back to the living room, his guest following closely with the cups.

They sat side by side on the couch with their drinks in hand and started talking about a movie he had watched with Kaoru recently. Tohru remarked with a smile that he was probably well versed in kids’ movies now.

“Not really. Kaoru tends to focus on a few. There was a time, a couple of years ago, where all he would watch was My Neighbor Totoro. I don’t know why this one in particular, but he loved it so much…” Mune recalled with a fond smile.

“Not much happening in this one,” his guest remarked. “Between that and his love for tofu… He really has strange tastes.”

“I guess you can say that…” he mused.

From what he’d seen with Kaoru’s friends though, every child was strange in their own way. But maybe his son had strange tastes in friends too, who knew…

He put his empty cup on the table and turned to the other man, who had finished a bit earlier and was now looking at him intently, obviously lost in thoughts that were mostly revolving around his host.

Actually, Tohru was considering whether or not now was a good time to kiss him, or if he was expected to leave now. When he saw the retailer’s questioning look, he decided to go for the first option and got closer silently. The worst that could happen was Mune telling him no, right?

He was pleased to see that the man didn’t complain when he did, which somehow ended up with him straddling the other. The retailer grunted when their crotches rubbed against each other, and Tohru inhaled sharply when he felt rough hands on his ass.

“Maybe we should take this to my room,” Mune whispered when they broke the kiss. “I don’t want Kaoru to walk in on us.”

The implication of the offer had the effect of a sack of sand falling on the cop’s shoulders.

_Taking it to his room? For real? But… Mune wasn’t planning to… Tohru wasn’t ready! Sure, he had read about that and gathered as much information as possible just in case it would happen but… But… Not now!_

“I have to go, actually,” he said nervously before getting up. “I have to work early tomorrow so I can’t stay. Bye!”

He hoped that the other would let him go, but of course, he had to grab his wrist before the sergeant could leave and ask him if something was wrong.

“I’m fine, I just remembered that I can’t stay,” he lied with a weak laugh.

Mune’s expression became more serious, almost grim, and the cop had to remind himself that it was simply the man’s thinking face and it had nothing to do with him being angry.

“You’re new to all this, aren’t you?” he asked suddenly.

Tohru almost choked.

“What? No, I told you-“

“That you’ve been with ‘people’ before, I know. Look, I wasn’t even thinking about… I mean, we’re not teenagers, we can take our time.”

“Really?” he asked with a hopeful look.

“Sure, don’t worry. I wouldn’t even think of it with Kaoru around anyway,” Mune shrugged.

_Oh, right, Kaoru…_

“I still think I should go though. But thanks,” he said with a reassuring (and reassured) smile.

The retailer let go of his wrist reluctantly and got up, muttering that he’d show him to the door. They kissed goodbye briefly, and Tohru found that there was something uncomfortable in the air. He regretted not staying to clear it before he left, but it was too late for that. As a last resort, he turned around at the door and asked:

“Morning drink in two days?”

“Sure,” the other nodded.

That felt a bit better, he found. It would have to do for now. As he walked toward the train station, complaining about the cold, he wondered if he would ever feel ready. And how long Mune would be able to wait. The kid had really saved his life here.

_And his ass._

“Thanks Kaoru,” he whispered to no one as he hid his hands in his pockets to keep them warm.

* * *

 

*He said something about not being “hover bearing”. Apparently, it meant not being too needy and making the other uncomfortable, and it was probably what a hovering bear would feel like. It was a very clever word, Kaoru found.


	10. Love Can Bloom Even On a Battlefield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And to finish my special productive week with a bang, here's the new chapter of Special Menu!
> 
> In today's issue, Kaoru is on a school trip, so Iwai and Adachi go out for dinner.
> 
> Warning: there is an explicit scene. I didn't think it was worth tagging the whole story as Explicit just because of this one chapter, but I'd rather warn you. Also, don't hesitate to tell me if you think I was wrong.
> 
> Enjoy!

Since their first dinner went so well, Tohru ended up coming back to the Iwais several times. The magic tricks he had learned during the months when he didn’t see Kaoru always saw good use, and he kept learning new ones. Seeing his junior play with coins all day drove Masanobu crazy, which was always a pleasure, and his relationship with Mune was… It was…

“Here, put this on,” the man said as he gave him an apron.

The cop hesitated.

_Was he serious? Did he really have to?_

“Why?” he asked without moving.

“Because you don’t want your clothes to get dirty.”

“You’re not wearing one,” the sergeant remarked.

“Because I only have one.”

“… I’m pretty sure you weren’t wearing it last time I saw you cook.”

Mune paused.

“You don’t know that,” he replied eventually. “Plus, I’m more used to cooking. I don’t get dirty as easily.”

Tohru sighed. Apparently, there was no way out of this one.

“Okay, fine,” he gave up as he grabbed it.

At least it was dark green and not frilly. Plus, it looked worn. He smiled as he imagined Mune in it, and put it on without complaining. Then, he noticed the white gecko adorning the bottom and asked:

“I’ve always wanted to ask: what’s with you and geckos?”

He was pleased to see that the other didn’t hesitate or even frown before explaining that Kaoru had a gecko-looking mark on his neck and that it was like a family crest to him now. To think that just a few months ago, asking a question like that would have earned him a disapproving look and probably a cold shoulder for a few weeks…

Tohru then noticed the other’s smirk as he looked him up and down, and he realized that the guy was really making fun of him.

_Asshole…_

“Like what you see?” the cop asked with an exaggeratedly feminine pose.

Mune stifled a laugh.

“Hmmm, not bad,” he replied as he wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

Since his nose was close to the man’s neck, Tohru took this opportunity to enjoy his smell. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly that he loved so much, but it somehow played a huge part in why he found the retailer so attractive.

_Yet he still panicked last time something was about to happen._

That thought almost ruined his kiss. The other had been acting normally ever since the sergeant … slightly panicked, but he didn’t know how long it would last. Mune was more careful than before, now that he knew about his lack of experience, but somehow, it only made the cop more anxious. How long until the retailer decided that it had been long enough? How long until Tohru got dumped (even though they weren’t officially dating) because he still wasn’t ready? What if he always panicked every time it was about to happen? He didn’t know, and he hated it.

“Okay, take this knife, we’re starting with cabbage,” the other man announced as he stepped back.

The cop didn’t know why the shop owner wanted to teach him how to cook so much, but he had insisted for days, and Tohru couldn’t refuse. After all, he was always happy to spend time with him, no matter how. Plus, it could be useful. As long as the guy didn’t try to teach him how to sew, he was fine with it.

“Why cabbage?” he asked curiously.

“Cabbage is perfect for you. It’s cheap, versatile, easy to cook, and you can keep it for a long time. And it’s healthy.”

“So this is like the cabbage of survival, huh?”

“Something like that,” Mune chuckled.

His forced pupil shrugged. He didn’t really care what he ate anyway, so as long as it wasn’t _nimono,_ he wasn’t going to complain.

“What are we making?”

“Salad is a good start. Cut the cabbage first and then I’ll show you a good dressing to go with it.”

“Fine by me.”

They ended up making an all cabbage dinner and ate it together with Kaoru.

_Those were Tohru’s favorite evenings._

.

Mune always loved discovering new sides of Tohru. Who would have thought the man would share a common passion for Detective Conan with Kaoru? Those were certainly not things he would have expected, back when he only saw him as a cop and nothing else (besides a nuisance, that is).

The other had been coming more and more often these days, and ever since the retailer had started teaching him how to cook, he sometimes came with part of their dinner.

_He was starting to be pretty good, even though he often stuck to simple things._

“My favorites are the cases with Kogoro. I think the Detective Boys are mostly annoying…” Tohru declared.

“But I like them! They’re really trying to help. Kogoro doesn’t do anything useful and gets all the credit,” his kid retorted.

“Yeah, that reminds me of someone,” the cop muttered.

Kaoru tilted his head questioningly.

“Never mind! Yeah, I guess there are good cases with the kids. Which one is your favorite?”

They then started debating the best cases very seriously, leaving Mune completely lost. Not that he minded, though. Just watching those two getting along was enough for him at the moment. He smiled softly when Kaoru made a comment that apparently offended Tohru, who started bragging about his detective skills.

“Have you solved many cases?” his kid asked, obviously buying everything the other told him.

Of course, the “ace detective” gulped nervously as he heard the question, and Mune had to repress a chuckle.

“Well, I can’t exactly talk about it,” he then explained.

He seemed really glad to get out of this one with his reputation unharmed, and luckily for him, Kaoru didn’t insist. The conversation then went to Phoenix Ranger Featherman R (and really, the retailer would have never guessed that Tohru also watched that), and the little boy ran to his room to fetch his figurine of the Blue Swan who, of course, was his favorite. When he left, his guest turned to him with a sheepish smile, but the kid came back before he could say anything. They then started playing with it, and the man even managed to include it in a magic trick, much to Kaoru’s pleasure.

Mune watched the scene silently, feeling a familiar warmth in his chest that slowly reached his whole body. It felt a bit like when his son had called him “Dad” for the first time, but there was a slight difference. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but he was sure that there was something.

Tohru then died in the most ridiculous and unconvincing way possible for some reason, and met his eyes briefly before falling on the ground while the kid’s giggles rang in his ears. The memory of a laughing Tsuda eating ice cream with him by the riverside and complaining that no one could look tough while eating sweets popped up in his mind, and the retailer then knew what differed.

_Of course, it was going to be this…_

For once, he didn’t try to deny it, nor did he wonder whether he liked it or not. He simply accepted it, and smiled fondly while the two others kept playing.

Once Kaoru got sent to bed, Tohru and Mune settled for their usual ritual of drinking some tea before the guest left. The flat seemed incredibly silent now that the kid was gone, and the sergeant couldn’t tell if it was better or not. To be honest, he liked both.

“I wonder if Kaoru will be able to sleep, now that you made him so excited,” the retailer remarked as he took care of the water.

“Sorry. I hope we weren’t too noisy,” Tohru said with an apologetic smile.

“It’s okay. It’s not even that late anyway,” he shrugged.

Once everything was ready, they settled in the living room with their cup of tea and fell in a comfortable silence. The cop looked mindlessly around him, from the TV screen surrounded with Kaoru’s collection of movies—a few of which they had watched together, just the three of them—to the little bowl on a shelf that was always full of Mune’s sweets. There were almost no decorations, and the furnishing was pretty minimalistic. It was just like his own flat, but those little details made the room way more homelike than Tohru’s place.

_Not that it was hard, of course. The only signs of life in his apartment were the models he was working on._

As he noticed those tiny things, the sergeant realized how much he loved it here. The wooden floor, the houseplant by the door, the kitchen that was barely big enough for the three of them, and even the minuscule bathroom. He scanned the room with a content smile, until his eyes inevitably fell on Mune, who was sitting at the other side of the table. He was looking out the window, obviously lost in thoughts, and Tohru took this opportunity to observe him without being noticed. His face was unshaven, like always, and his hair was flattened from wearing a cap all day. Without it, the light coming from above revealed tiny wrinkles on his brow and at the corner of his eyes. It made him look older than he was, and so tired… Yet, it was then that the cop realized that, more than the place itself, what he loved the most about it were the people who lived here.

He sipped his tea without a word as he let the realization sink in. There was something about it that felt overwhelming, and in a sudden need to share it, he called the other man’s name.

Mune turned to him with a questioning look, and it was when it hit Tohru how much he loved him.

What also hit him, however, was that there was no way he’d say it out loud. So, in a desperate attempt to say something that was close but not exactly it, he simply remarked:

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”

He didn’t know why he still remembered that reference from high school, but since the other had been looking at the night sky the whole time, it seemed fitting. Tohru sincerely hoped that his host wouldn’t understand what he was talking about, but a part of him still wished that he did.

 _“You should just have said that you’re happy to be here, you idiot!”_ he scolded himself.

He bit his lip nervously, waiting for an answer, and after a few seconds of surprised silence, Mune looked him in the eyes and replied with a soft smile:

“Yeah, it is.”

That was a good answer, Tohru decided as he sipped more tea to hide his embarrassment.

.

Tohru was cleaning his flat more thoroughly than he ever had. It wasn’t really dirty in the first place, but now that he knew who would (most probably) come in the evening, he felt compelled to remove every grain of dust—and also to leave some kind of artistic mess that would make the place feel more like a home and less like a picture from a furniture magazine.

_He had to leave his modified gun out of sight though, somewhere Mune would never find it. It was almost done, he was so close… But he would finish it another time._

As he took a look at the result of his efforts, the cop wondered if it would be okay. Not that he had much time to think about it, because he was supposed to leave soon, and he wasn’t even dressed yet! Good thing he’d managed to leave work earlier that day.

While he tried (and failed) to look decent, he started doubting that this date was such a good idea after all. But at the same time, it was a unique opportunity, and it would have been a shame to pass on it.

It had all started with an innocent comment from Mune, a few days ago.

“Kaoru is going on a school trip next week. I can’t believe it’s that time of the year already…” he’d said.

It was only for two nights, meaning that these were the only times when the two of them could spend the evening together, without Kaoru sleeping just a room away from them. Hence, Tohru was planning to make the most out of it! He had even bought everything for the occasion. Including lube. He didn’t know if they were going to use it, but at least it would be there if he didn’t change his mind, right?

_This was going to be a disaster…_

The sergeant took a deep breath and straightened up as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. The result was a complex balance between efforts and carelessness. Nothing about him was saying that he was going on a date, but he still looked better than usual. Perfect.

His hair was sticking in all directions already when he walked past the door, and he decided that he didn’t care. Mune never seemed to mind anyway.

.

For once, Mune arrived first at their meeting place. Tohru had insisted on going to a Korean restaurant, since the retailer recently revealed that he’d never tried it before.

“It’s really good, you’ll see!” the man had said.

It wasn’t like Mune had other plans anyway. Plus, it was nice that the other was taking the initiative this time. The shop owner had no idea how Tohru knew about this place, but the guy was pretty adamant that it would be perfect to start with Korean food, and now he was very curious to see why.

He walked into the restaurant, saw that his … date wasn’t here yet, and asked for a table for two. The place was really nice, yet pretty casual. Most of the people there seemed to be groups of friends, so they wouldn’t raise suspicions. It was a pretty good choice, he decided as he started scanning the menu and selecting a few dishes to ask the other about when he arrived.

He didn’t have to wait long until the door opened to a scrawny young man with messy hair. Tohru looked like he’d made efforts, and he was more nicely dressed than usual. However, for any outsider, he looked more like a salaryman who had taken off his tie and jacket than like someone on a date. The retailer moved his hand to signal his presence, and the newcomer smiled when he saw him.

“I hope I didn’t make you wait,” he said as he sat down heavily. “I didn’t think it would take me this long to come.”

“No worries, I haven’t been here for long,” Mune dismissed.

All in all, their dinner went well. Tohru revealed that he often ordered delivery from here, and he knew almost every item of the menu. They ended up sharing several dishes, and the retailer had to admit that they were all delicious.

“So, isn’t it too hard not to have Kaoru around?” the other man asked after a while.

“I haven’t had much time to notice yet,” he shrugged. “Still, it felt weird when I came home earlier and he wasn’t here to greet me…”

Tohru chuckled.

“Welcome to my life,” he said with an amused smile.

“Right. I’m in no hurry to see how it’ll feel like when I come back to an empty flat after this.”

“Are you nervous?” he asked with a smirk.

Mune huffed.

“I wouldn’t go that far. It’s not his first school trip, after all.”

To his surprise, the other didn’t reply anything. Instead, he bit his lip and seemed to hesitate for a moment. He looked like he desperately wanted to say something and didn’t dare to. The retailer patiently waited for it to come out.

“Do you want to come to my place instead?” Tohru finally asked.

“Huh?”

Mune couldn’t believe his ears. Was the other suggesting what he thought he was? Or was it simply an innocent offer? Also, he should probably close his mouth.

“I mean, it’s just… This way you won’t have to go to your empty flat, you know.”

The retailer took a second to think. Even if Tohru didn’t have any ulterior motive, there was nothing stopping him from coming. He didn’t even have to spend the night there.

“You can crash on the couch. Or I can-“ the other man continued, sounding more and more nervous with each word.

“That sounds perfect. Thank you,” he replied.

Tohru seemed pleased to hear it. He even had this relieved smile from when he thought he’d made a mistake and couldn’t believe things were going well after all.

_Adorable._

They split the bill and left soon after. The weather was pretty nice, as was fit for a spring night, and since the other didn’t live far, they both agreed to walk there.

On the way to the flat, Mune couldn’t help but wonder what the place looked like. From what he’d gathered, the man was always happy to stay away from it, and he was curious to see why.

Tohru remained silent for most of the trip, and the other didn’t seem to mind. During that time, the cop kept thinking about what he would do once they arrived. Should he offer some tea? Or a beer? Or maybe he should just go straight to the point while he still had the courage…

He wanted this. He knew he did. Somehow, having sex with Mune had been the only thing on his mind ever since he’d learned that Kaoru would be gone for a few days. However, now that it was this close to happening, he was starting to have second thoughts.

“You okay?” the other man asked after a while.

He seemed concerned, and Tohru’s heart missed a beat when he noticed. He didn’t know if it was because of stress or because he felt so glad to mean enough to Mune that he’d make him worry. He smiled weakly and tried to brush it off.

“Yeah, no problem. I was just wondering if the place is tidy enough for guests. I haven’t had anyone come over in a while, so…”

_Ever. He hadn’t had anyone come to this flat ever._

“It’ll be fine. I’m sure my place would have been a mess too, if Kaoru hadn’t been around,” the retailer replied with a chuckle.

 _“Having a kid changes a lot of things, huh…”_ Mune remembered suddenly. But how many things did Tohru change in his life, now that he was becoming a part of it? He glanced at the other, taking in his concerned expression and ungraceful walk, and he had to repress a sudden urge to touch him. Soon, he told himself.

He never expected it to be _so_ soon, though.

The tenant had declined his offer to wait outside while he tidied the place, and his lips were on Mune’s as soon as they closed the door. There wasn’t any light yet, they still had their shoes on, everything was blurry, their hands were everywhere on each other, their movements a complete mess due to the darkness and the rush, and the retailer was only sure of one thing: he loved every second of it.

“You sure are in a hurry tonight,” he mused when they broke the kiss.

“Just don’t let me stop,” Tohru whispered, out of breath and almost desperate.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, positive,” he replied as he leaned in for another kiss … and changed course at the last second to lick Mune’s neck, just the way he liked it.

That was low.

That was also incredibly hot, and the retailer didn’t think twice before growling:

“Where’s your room?”

He was ready to stop at any second, he told himself. If Tohru showed signs of changing his mind, he’d just stop and call it a night. Yet, as he hurriedly took off his shoes, cap, and jacket, and left them all on the floor in a messy pile to follow the other man, Mune sincerely hoped that he wouldn’t have to.

“Light,” he muttered when his host showed no sign of turning it on.

He wanted to see him. He wanted to see every face he made, every inch of Tohru’s skin, and for once, it didn’t matter to him if the other saw just as much of himself. He didn’t have many tattoos, but he usually tried to keep them concealed. Not this time, however.

Tohru hesitated. He knew he’d never been on the handsome side, but at the same time, he felt that it was important for him to see things clearly. Face the situation head on. He turned on the light and ended up lifted in the air and thrown on the bed as if he weighed nothing. Mune was soon on top of him, his calloused hands going under his shirt. The sergeant had always loved how rough they were, how they caressed and scratched him at the same time, touching him in places he’d never imagined would feel so good.

His shirt was gone soon enough, and as the other man stopped for a moment to enjoy the view, he felt so naked that he wondered how embarrassing it would be once all his clothes were gone. To distract himself from the thought, he got up on one elbow and tugged on the retailer’s turtleneck to take it off.

_He was curious to see how many tattoos he had…_

To his disappointment, the action was harder than expected given his position, and Mune ended up doing it himself, chuckling at his failure or his enthusiasm, he didn’t know.

Tohru’s eyes were immediately drawn to the koi carp on his left shoulder, and he let his fingers trail alongside it. The ex-yakuza seemed a bit uncomfortable with it, his eyes resolutely fixed somewhere next to the cop. He smiled and put his hand behind the other’s neck, pulling him closer for a kiss. As always, as soon as their lips brushed, he was met with the sweet taste of the lollipop the man had been sucking on after they left the restaurant. It was grape this time, he recognized, unable to repress a knowing smile.

_Mune’s second favorite flavor._

Now that his confidence was back, the retailer went back to work, lowering his hands to Tohru’s ass. The cop moved his hips up to grind their crotches against each other, earning a hiss as a reward. His triumphant smile didn’t last long, however, because he got stripped out of his pants and underwear all of a sudden, and he clearly wasn’t ready for that.

He was right. Being fully naked made him feel even more naked, which was the most idiotic thought he’d ever had. Not that he had time to focus on that of course, because Mune seemed to really enjoy the view, and now his mouth was on his clavicle, Tohru’s hand lost in his short hair, and the way he was teasing his cock before taking it in his hand felt like heaven.

Mune chuckled when he heard the way his partner moaned under his touch. The face that came after, once he realized the sound he’d just made, was even better. It made him want to kiss the man so much that his mouth was on his temple before he even knew it. Tohru was wriggling and squirming under his hands, even more so when the retailer went back to his torso to lick one of his nipples. He already knew about some of the man’s soft spots, but he couldn’t wait to find the others, now that he had access to his entire body.

He kept stroking his length, enjoying Tohru’s reactions, his moans and pants, the way he tried to hide his face and then gave up on it…

_It had been a while, but it seemed that Mune still had it~_

Now more confident than ever, he kept going lower and lower, tasting every inch of exposed skin he could reach, until his mouth arrived on Tohru’s dick, which was dribbling with pre-cum already. He licked it slowly, half for the pleasure of raising the other’s expectations and half because he wanted to give him a chance to stop him. His partner’s reaction was pretty positive however, so he kept going and took the tip in his mouth, his tongue expertly swirling around it before he took in more. Given the way Tohru’s entire body arched, he seemed to really like it. He kept going down until it reached the back of his mouth. Then, he decided that it was enough for a first time, and went back up, focusing instead on his tongue work and fondling his balls with one hand. The other wouldn’t last long, he could tell by his hitched breathing, and the way his cock twitched in his mouth.

“Mune, I’m gonna…” he started.

The retailer simply hummed as he heard that, focusing on his task to repress his smile, and he let the other come hard, taking in everything he could while he felt Tohru’s hand gripping his hair, massaging his skull.

_Those hands would feel so great scratching his back, when he was going to pound him into the mattress… He couldn’t wait!_

Tohru was desperately trying to catch his breath while Mune was looking at him with the smuggest grin the cop had ever seen. That pissed him off a bit but at the same time, he was feeling way too good to care.

_That was more amazing than anything he’d imagined._

“No kissing for a while,” he muttered rather than admit it.

“Fine by me,” the other shrugged before planting a playful kiss on his neck.

He seemed to be in an incredibly good mood, but given the bulge in his half undone trousers—when did he even do that?—he was expecting more. Which Tohru was 100% ready to give, obviously. Or so he hoped.

He reached down to rid Mune of the rest of his clothes, feeling kind of stupid when the man’s cock sprung free from his underwear. Of course, he expected it, but he also felt very underprepared for the whole reality of … this.

“You’re ready for the next part?” Mune asked, and Tohru could tell by the tone of his voice that he would stop everything if he said he wasn’t.

He could also see that the other really didn’t want to stop, and since it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway, he nodded firmly.

The situation was a lot more awkward now that the retailer wasn’t touching him anywhere, he realized nervously as he searched the drawer of his nightstand for the lube and condoms he had bought especially for the occasion.

“I … Um…” he stared, wondering how exactly this was supposed to happen.

Everything seemed so simple when he was watching gay porn for documentation, but really, he didn’t know how they were supposed to choose who topped. Should they draw straw or something?* A part of his mind was telling him that the role assignment wouldn’t be hard, since he just couldn’t picture Mune being the one taking it. Or himself being the one… Anyway.

“Look, I usually top, but if you don’t want to… I mean, it’s up to you,” the other man declared, scratching his neck awkwardly.

Tohru took a deep breath and put the items in front of him.

“You can do it. I trust you.”

He hadn’t realized how much he meant those words before he actually said them out loud, and the way Mune smiled when he heard that made his heart flutter.

“Thanks,” he said as he took them.

He then leaned in, as if he was going for a kiss—and despite his earlier comment, Tohru found himself not entirely against the idea—before going lower, focusing on his neck instead. The cop didn’t know why the other seemed so adamant to distract him, but he wasn’t going to complain. There was a hand caressing his thigh, encouraging him to spread his legs wider, and he soon felt lube covered fingers at his entrance.

_When did Mune even cover his fingers with lube? He should really pay more attention!_

“You ready?” he heard the other’s raspy voice in his ear.

He nodded.

It didn’t feel too bad, at first. Just strange, and foreign. Two fingers were a bit harder to take in, but he soon stopped caring, or even counting fingers, when he felt Mune brush against something that sent a sudden and unexpected wave of pleasure though his entire body. His only regret was that it was over so soon…

Mune couldn’t repress a smile when he saw the other man’s disappointed face after he pulled out his fingers. However, for him at least, the best part was starting now. He put on the condom and poured some more lube on it, just to make sure everything went well. Tohru looked a bit more apprehensive now, but he seemed ready and still pretty relaxed. The retailer pushed himself inside him slowly, prepared to stop as soon as he saw any sign of pain on the other’s face, until he heard him mumble:

“I’m not gonna break, you know.”

He chuckled as he started moving, his smile growing wider when he noticed how Tohru was clutching the sheets. He took his hand by reflex as he started focusing on his own pleasure, enjoying how hot the other’s body was at that moment. The man gasped loudly when Mune managed to find the right angle, and he kept going faster while his partner repeated his name breathlessly, as if it was the only thing he could think of.

“Feeling good?” he breathed in his ear before nipping it.

Tohru only dug his short nails in his back as an answer, his legs wrapped tight around his waist as he let out a moan of approval. That made Mune lose all control and he went harder and faster, kissing and licking the other’s neck hungrily to repress his own pleasured sounds.

“Kiss me,” he heard soon after.

He’d never realized how soft and sexy Tohru’s voice could be, even when it became more high-pitched like now; or maybe because of it, he couldn’t tell.

He raised his head to face him and said with a teasing smile:

“I thought you didn’t want kisses.”

Tohru opened his eyes, hazed with pleasure, and managed to say between two moans:

“Don’t care.”

How could this scrawny, inelegant, and disheveled man be so attractive during sex was beyond Mune, but he couldn’t deny the fact.

“As you wish,” he replied before leaning in to comply with his request.

Tohru’s moves were pretty sloppy, but the retailer was too lost in the moment to care. He probably wasn’t much better anyway. He used his free hand to pump the other’s neglected member—the way it bounced between them was distracting—and that seemed to really send him over the edge. The man broke the kiss to gasp for air and didn’t last long after that. As he came for the second time, long threads of cum splattering on their stomachs, he reached up to Mune’s shoulder and bit hard.

Feeling Tohru clamp around his cock, his teeth against his skin and his hands still firmly on his back, Mune came soon after, riding the waves of pleasure fully. Then, he pulled out of him, lying lazily next to him before getting rid of his filled condom. The other still hadn’t moved, his breath heavy and his hazy eyes still half closed, as if he was going to fall asleep any second.

As always, Mune started craving something sweet as soon as his own breath calmed down, and he retrieved his pants to grab a lollipop. He found a cherry flavored one on the first try and unwrapped it quickly before popping it inside his mouth. He then fished out another one and presented it to Tohru, who didn’t take it. The retailer checked the nightstand for tissues and handed them to him. This time, the man accepted them gladly, cleaning himself in slow, lazy moves.

As Mune collected himself, rolling the sweet against his tongue pensively, he started thinking about the immediate future. He didn’t know why reality always came back to his mind so soon after sex, especially when Tohru was still basking in the afterglow, but he was used to it by now, so he started making plans to leave before he missed the last train.

Once he gathered the courage to move from his spot, Mune kissed the other man lightly on the lips and sat up.

“I’m going home,” he announced, ready to leave the bed and retrieve his clothes.

“No, stay,” Tohru whined, still unable to move.

“I can’t, I need to work tomorrow,” he sighed.

He’d never been much of an after sex cuddler anyway. Or stayer. It wasn’t that he wanted to leave, to be honest. He was simply being realistic, and he knew it would be easier for him to go back home now. Especially since he hated waking up in an unknown bed.

“Me too. You can take a shower here. Put an alarm on or something.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised instead.

As he got up to pick up his shirt after putting on his pants, Mune expected an acknowledgment. Maybe even an agreement. Or perhaps a feeble complaint. Certainly a goodbye.

What he didn’t expect, however, was for Tohru to sit up suddenly and exclaim:

“No please, don’t leave!”

There was a lot in his eyes at that moment. Fear. Anguish. Despair. Mune didn’t know where all of this came from, but he couldn’t just ignore it. Too bad for his easy morning tomorrow, he sighed as he walked back to the bed.

“Fine, I’m staying,” he said.

He didn’t ask where that came from. Leaving so soon probably made him look like he was running away. He wasn’t used to having someone wanting him to stay after all… That part was a bit new to him.

He kissed Tohru again and told him he’d get his stuff ready first. That seemed to reassure him. They talked for a bit while he finished his lollipop, and the only thing missing from their usual evenings together was a cup of tea. Then, he turned off the light and went under the blankets, feeling the other do the same.

Mune still wasn’t much of a cuddler, but he didn’t complain when Tohru wriggled closer to him before falling asleep.

.

When Kaoru came back from his trip two days later, one of the first things he asked was:

“Did you see Adachi-san while I wasn’t here?”

“We went to a Korean restaurant. It was nice,” Mune replied casually.

“Good!” the kid said with a nod of approval.

If he knew…

* * *

 

*Of course, rock-paper-scissors would be more convenient, but that wasn’t the question.


	11. On Top of the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... Thanks to the power of being incredibly impatient and having a comfortable lead, I've decided to finish posting Special Menu a bit faster than expected. Namely, you can also expect the next and last chapter of this story next week.
> 
> "But then what do you mean by 'having a comfortable lead'?" you're going to ask.  
> Well, as some of you already know, I have a part 2 planned (and a part 3 but that's for another time). I'll tell you more about it next week, but it's written already. It's about as long as Special Menu for now, and it happens during the events or P4. Again I just need to edit it, which I've just started doing.
> 
> For now... enjoy!

Of course, Mune was hoping that after his first time, Tohru would feel less shy about sex. What he hadn’t expected, however, was for him to be so needy and insatiable. Not that he was against it, of course. He was _far_ from being against it.

The second night without Kaoru around, they spent at his place.

_It seemed that the other had understood his issue with sleeping in another bed when Mune had startled so hard upon waking up in the morning that he’d scared him_.

It had been easier this time, so much easier, and he’d be damned if he didn’t admit how much he enjoyed finishing what they had started on the couch during his guest’s first evening here, this time without being afraid of Kaoru hearing anything. They were half naked already when they took off to his room, kissing and grinding against each other. Tohru didn’t stop him this time.

They didn’t have many chances to do it in a bed again after that night, but that didn’t faze the other one bit. Nights were replaced with days and really, Mune’s biggest surprise in the matter had been Tohru plopping on his lap after lunch not even a few days after Kaoru came back, nibbling his ear as he whispered quite crudely what he wanted from him. Something about taking him on the desk, he thought, although everything became hazy with time and repetition.

_Tohru kept improving though. He’d started from the bottom and now he could drive him crazy just by kissing him. And that was without mentioning all the things he could do with his hands. Where did he even learn all that?_

Something Mune understood pretty early on was that the other loved to test his limits. It was interesting when it implied trying out new things—and damn could he be inventive sometimes—but it could also be dangerous. Their biggest disagreement on the matter was having sex after Kaoru went to bed.

The retailer was fine with messing around a bit, he really was. His favorite thing was sending Tohru back home with even messier hair, even more disheveled clothes, and something dreamy in his eyes, making him look more than ever like someone who’d just walked out of a car accident.

_It was something that never ceased to impress Mune, how incredibly hot the other could be in the heat of the moment, how amazing his voice rang, yet the second it was over, it was plain old Tohru in front of him, cute but awkwardly so, looking perfectly harmless and kind of lost…_

However, the guy could be loud sometimes, so the retailer knew that sex wasn’t something they could have when his kid was around.

“I’ll be quiet this time, I promise,” Tohru would whisper against his ear every time.

“You know you’re not,” Mune would reply, ignoring the shivers of anticipation that the other’s words sent down his spine, without mentioning the mouth on his neck.

“Maybe you should gag me,” he had offered once, and the retailer had been this close to accepting this time, before he remembered that a gag meant no sexy voice moaning lewdly to go harder, or asking for a kiss that Mune would delay as much as possible, just to hear him beg for it a bit longer, struggling more and more as he failed to remember the words, let alone pronounce them properly.*

Then came, obviously, the question of Tohru staying for the night. They had agreed a while ago not to say anything to Kaoru, since his father’s priority was to make things as easy as possible for him at school and in society in general. Being the adopted kid of a single father was hard enough, and he wasn’t going to add “in a relationship with another man” to the equation. Plus, if parents started asking questions and bringing the Social Service’s attention to them… Tohru didn’t know the details of his kid’s adoption, but it seemed that he got the picture.

What the guy didn’t understand, however, was that children ask a lot of questions and see a lot more than you’d want them to. Hence, just saying that he missed the last train home and had to stay for the night wouldn’t explain why he ended up naked in his father’s bed and not on the couch with some clothes on.

Tohru’s arguments were getting better every time though, without mentioning his knowledge of how to allay his wariness.

_“You can still take out a pillow and blanket, and put it on the couch to make it look like I slept there,”_ he’d say.

_“You told me yourself that Kaoru hasn’t come to your room in the middle of the night in months, why would he do it now?”_

_“I can still tell him that I had a nightmare too!”_

_“Come one Mune, I’ll be reeeaaal good I swear, just let me stay here tonight.”_

_“I’ll go on the couch afterward, I promise.”_

_“How is it more dangerous than what we usually do?”_

The list was going on and on, and it was so hard to resist when the other had his hands on his crotch already and they had started stripping at some point, he never knew when.

_What a tricky bastard…_

Mune didn’t know why staying the night seemed so important to Tohru, but he was sure of one thing: one day, he was going to give up and let him. And he sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t be the night when Kaoru started having nightmares again.

.

Tohru had made it. He had _made it_! Finally!

After all this time, all these hardships, all the hurdles on his way, he had finally managed to make his own gun!

He _knew_ the key to a modified gun that shot real bullets was lying somewhere in Untouchable’s special menu! And now, after months of hard work, it was right here, in his hands; and the sergeant was going to keep it with him forever!

He let out a pleased sigh. Between this, Masanobu finally out of his way ever since he got promoted to another station, his relationship with Mune, and his future promotion to inspector in sight, Tohru felt like he had it all at last.

_Except that he was underpaid, Mune could be a hindrance to his career someday, and despite everything, he_ still _couldn’t spend the night with him when Kaoru was around._

He was close to having it all, at least. And just like his gun, it only required a bit more work on his part. He could do it! Maybe people were right, after all. Maybe you could do anything if you worked hard enough.

Speaking of which, he absolutely had to see Mune tomorrow, to celebrate the fulfillment of his childhood dream properly. Of course, he would keep the celebration and its object a secret, but it didn’t matter as long as he got to spend time with the person who made this possible.

_They could eat, and have sex, and then he’d walk back to the station with one of the man’s lollipops in mouth, keeping the fruity taste on his tongue for a bit longer. The retailer had only started offering them recently—and it had to mean something, although the cop didn’t know what exactly—but Tohru regretted not having done that earlier. It felt like having the other by his side even after he left, and there was nothing he enjoyed more than thinking about the past hour or so while he made the candy click lightly against his teeth and rolled it on his tongue on the ride back to work._

Now that he had his plan, the cop took out his phone to text the man and noticed that he had an unread message from him: “Don’t call me that. Also, cold?”

Tohru’s face fell when he remembered what this was replying to. He checked his history to confirm his doubts and let out a desperate groan as he read his own text: “Ur cold & a pop! Popsicle!!!”

Why didn’t he have a function that stopped him from texting people when he was drunk? That seemed hilarious to him when he sent it, but he really shouldn’t have shared it with the retailer. He remembered giggling like an idiot for a solid fifteen minutes before _and_ after he’d sent the text. And if he was perfectly honest with himself, he still found it a bit funny.

_It really suited the man._

“Sorry, night out with colleagues. It fits though. Remember how you were when we first met? ;)”** he texted back with a grin, all feelings of shame forgotten.

When he didn’t have a reply after a while, he wrote again to ask Mune if he was free for lunch on the next day, since it was what he’d initially wanted to ask. As always, the answer came a few hours later:

“How about dinner instead?”

Tohru took a moment to think. He had offered lunch because it gave him an opportunity to have the retailer all for himself, but at the same time, he hadn’t seen Kaoru in a while. And it was a celebration after all, even if he was going to be the only one who knew about it.

“Dinner sounds great. See you, Popsicle!”** he texted soon after.

“What did I just say? Forget about dinner,” was the almost immediate reply.

The sergeant smiled. It was quite rare to have Mune replying so fast. It only happened when he was incredibly bored.

“Come on, it’s cute! And you know what people do with popsicles~”**

“… You are not going there.”

“What more do I have to lose now that I’m not having dinner with you?”**

There was no answer for a while, and then:

“A lot.”

“Like your popsicle?” Tohru replied with a smirk.

He only had three dots for an answer, which he knew meant that the retailer had laughed and didn’t want to admit it.

“Fine. Should I bring dessert as a peace offering?” he wrote.

“Sounds good. See ya!”

With nothing else to say either, the sergeant put down his phone, wondering if he’d be able to reach his new goal with Mune this time. Or maybe he should drop it for once? After all, he didn’t want to argue with the other man on his celebration night.

Really though, why couldn’t he sleep with him unless Kaoru was away? That was the only thing in their relationship that the cop could really complain about, but no matter how much he tried to reason with himself, it was still a huge point of discontent for him.

It wasn’t that he needed sex that much; it was just an excellent incentive. And he really missed the comfort of the bed, to be honest. But more importantly, Tohru just…

_…wanted to feel like more than just a guest._

_…craved staying in the place he secretly called home for as long as he could._

_…liked the idea of sharing a bed with Mune._

_…was curious to see what breakfast with the Iwais would be like._

_…wondered if Kaoru would be happy to see him in the morning._

Something like that.

The worst part was that he couldn’t even be mad at Kaoru for this. He loved the kid, and it was partially thanks to him that he’d made it this far. Plus, the cop hated to admit it, but he missed the little guy when he wasn’t around. Maybe he could just wait for a bit longer? After all, the boy was going to be nine. He was growing up fast.

_Mune complained a lot that he didn’t get to read him bedtime stories anymore and he was missing it already, now that his kid could read on his own. The older man’s attachment toward this ritual never stopped amusing Tohru._

When Kaoru was more independent, his father would probably stop worrying about nightly visits. He might even realize that his son was bright enough not to tell anyone about their relationship. And then, maybe then, Tohru would finally have it all.

.

Mune couldn’t believe that winter was already at the door. Most of the year had gone by in a blink, and so much had changed compared to the previous one. He had to replace most of Kaoru’s wardrobe again, his relationship with Tohru was finally stabilizing, and his sulky cop was now complaining about his new _kouhai_ instead of his annoying _senpai_.

Talking about him, he was currently deep in a conversation with Kaoru while cutting tofu for their dinner, and given his progress, he wasn’t very efficient.

_Good thing Mune wasn’t really counting on him for this anyway._

He knew the other tended to forget about the task at hand when Kaoru was around. He was way too busy making a show for him to care about the rest, even when their food was at stake. Plus, the bowl would never be full if he kept giving his kid the “ugly bits” every now and then…

“Are you done cutting the tofu?” he still asked, just to see the younger man’s apologetic smile when he admitted that he wasn’t.

_That always made Kaoru laugh, even though this time he looked a bit guilty to have been caught eating his treat._

Mune sighed and asked the two unruly brats to bring the food to the table instead, while he took over his inefficient aide’s share and finished the few things that still needed to be taken care of.

As always, he couldn’t repress a smile when he arrived with the rest of their dinner and found them still talking happily. The place sure was a lot livelier whenever Tohru was around. Usually, Kaoru was too busy reading or doing his homework while his father was making dinner, unless there was some mixing required. Speaking of which, maybe it was time for Mune to start teaching his kid how to use a knife and the stove…

“You know what? Next time I’ll ask Kaoru to give us a hand and we’ll see who’s the most efficient of you two,” he declared as he put the dishes on the table.

“Really? I can help next time?” the boy asked excitedly.

“I guess you’re old enough for that, so long as I’m around,” he shrugged.

“Yay!”

“Maybe we could do a race then!” Tohru exclaimed.

“If Kaoru hurts himself because of you, you can say goodbye to your fingers,” Mune threatened.

The other gulped as he took back his words, and the retailer’s ‘protective father’ expression softened.

“At least you’ll focus on your task if you two don’t talk,” he declared.

“But Mune, it’s funnier this way!” the spoiled brat complained.

“Yeah, it is!” Kaoru agreed.

“Stop being a bad influence on my kid, will you?” was his only reply.

“I’m an excellent influence! Right Kaoru?”

“Yeah, he’s the one who taught me how to write a book summary without reading the book!” the boy exclaimed happily.

_Wait, he did_ what _?!_

Mune sent a death glare in the irresponsible cop’s direction, and the other at least had the decency to look sorry.

“This is an example of bad influence,” he grumbled, still looking at Tohru who was now laughing nervously.

“But I’m sure Kaoru will keep it for emergencies!” he tried to defend himself.

“Kaoru, don’t let him come near your homework again,” Mune declared.

His kid nodded, explaining that he preferred to take care of it beforehand anyway, so that he could play with their guest instead.

“All thanks to the power of efficiency,” Tohru boasted.

“Don’t make things worse for yourself,” he snapped.

That made him shut up.

The good mood soon came back as Kaoru laughed at the exchange, and one thing leading to another, the kid started talking about Christmas.

“Dad makes the best fried chicken!” his kid claimed proudly.

If Mune had been the kind of person who blushed, he would have. A quick glance at Tohru showed that the guy was well aware of it, and he decided to change the subject.

“By the way Adachi-san, what are you doing for Christmas?” Kaoru asked before his father could say anything.

The other bit his lip nervously, and decided to play it off as he replied:

“Me? Um… Not much, actually. It’s like any other day, you know.”

The boy seemed to think for a second.

“You should eat with us then,” he declared as if it was the obvious answer. “Right, Dad?” he asked as he turned to him.

Meanwhile, Tohru was obviously dying with embarrassment.

“Sure,” Mune nodded.

To be honest, he had thought about it. They couldn’t have a romantic Christmas with Kaoru around anyway, so they would have to keep it simple and casual. It wouldn’t be very different from their usual dinners, actually.

_It was just what he wanted._

“Yay! I’ll help this time!” the kid said joyfully.

Later that night, after Kaoru went to bed, the retailer noticed that Tohru looked especially thoughtful. Concerned, even. He handed him his cup of tea silently.

“You seem worried. Is something wrong?” he asked when it became obvious that the other wasn’t going to tell him anything.

Startled, his guest didn’t reply immediately. Then, he took a deep breath and started:

“About Christmas… Um…”

He stopped, and Mune sighed.

“Look, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. It’s fine. I’ll tell Kaoru you’re working. Crime doesn’t stop on Christmas Eve and stuff like that.”

If the statement was true, it was still missing a very important piece of information: he would be disappointed if Tohru didn’t come after all.

“That’s not it. It’s just that I don’t want to impose. You didn’t really have a word on that so…” the other replied, looking stubbornly at his tea.

Mune had to repress a relieved sigh, and he put a hand on the man’s shoulder to grab his attention.

“I’d love to have you here,” he declared.

Tohru’s face lit up like a Christmas tree when he heard that. The retailer would have lied if he said he didn’t make the guy turn toward him for that reason.

“I’d love to come,” he replied with a somewhat choked tone.

Mune smiled, amused.

“I’d never have thought you were so sentimental,” he commented.

“Shut up,” was the only reply.

Then, Tohru put his cup back on the small table and leaned in to kiss him.

.

“Mune, I’m at loss, you have to help me find a gift for Kaoru! I don’t know what to choose!” Tohru exclaimed one day, soon before Christmas.

“Come on, he adores you. You could give him a pebble and he’d love it because it’s from you,” the retailer replied.

Mune didn’t know when exactly he had become so lenient, but he still ended up in a crowded street with the other man after work. He had closed the shop early since it was a calm day anyway, and they were now walking down a busy street full of people who were apparently Christmas shopping as well, unless they were simply strolling the streets to enjoy the decorations.

Tohru was blabbering about all his ideas and why they could be horrible, and Mune tried to reassure him or point out the good ones.

“What did you even get him?” the younger man asked suddenly.

“He asked for a game for three people. So we can play together,” he shrugged.

Of course Adachi looked like he was about to cry. That made Mune want to ruffle his hair so bad… But the moment was soon gone, and the man looked the other way before saying:

“So a game, huh…”

“Yeah. Actually it’s good that you’re here. If you’re going to play with us, you can help me choose something you’d like.”

He turned around when there was no answer, and Tohru wasn’t anywhere in sight. It took him a moment to notice the other fending off the crowd to catch up with him.

“Sorry, I stopped to think and then you were gone,” he apologized.

“No problem.”

They started walking again, discussing what they could choose and whether or not Kaoru had a video game console. Tohru was starting to have an idea, but he needed a few details. As they were talking, the crowd suddenly got thicker, and it became harder to follow Mune through it. Then, everything became easier, but also a lot weirder, when the man grabbed his hand to lead the way.

Of course, Tohru was too surprised to react at first, and he let himself be dragged through the endless flow of people, wondering what the other was thinking by doing that. He wasn’t entirely against it though, now that he thought about it. In the end, he didn’t dare saying anything, for fear that the retailer would stop, and he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. After all, no one would notice two men holding hands when there were so many people around, right?

He stopped looking where they were going and kept his eyes glued to their laced fingers, savoring the feeling of somehow being part of the numerous couples enjoying the Christmas lights. He knew they weren’t here for that, or even officially a couple, and he was well aware that the man holding his hand was the opposite of a cute girlfriend (although he had stopped complaining about that a long time ago), but at that moment, it was just too easy to close his eyes and pretend…

Mune soon reached the shop he’d been looking for and turned around to tell the kid that they were there. Then, he noticed that he was with Tohru, a grown up man, and that there was a hand in his that couldn’t belong to Kaoru. He looked at it for a moment and then released it slowly.

_He hadn’t held Kaoru’s hand for years now! What was he thinking?!_

“Sorry. Um… We’re there,” he declared, too embarrassed to look at him in the eyes.

_The floor was too interesting anyway. All those moving feet… Fascinating._

Had he been looking higher, he wouldn’t have missed the other man’s disappointed face.

“It’s okay. Did you think I was Kaoru?” Tohru asked with an amused smile.

“I guess so… I wasn’t really thinking,” he admitted, knowing that he was never going to hear the end of it.

Tohru shrugged before walking past him to enter the shop, a tiny smirk still plastered on his face. The incident wasn’t brought back up that day, but Mune was fairly sure that it wouldn’t be forgotten.

* * *

 

*Not to mention that it would be impossible to explain if Kaoru found them like that.

**t/n: Text translated to be readable by people who aren’t Tohru


	12. Family is a Dish Best Served Warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's the last chapter!
> 
> This time... it's Christmas. That's it, the whole chapter is Christmas. And it's all fluffy and nice.
> 
> Enjoy! (while you can...)

Tohru was told not to come too early on Christmas Eve, which was perfect because he thought until the last minute that he would have to cancel everything.

_Stupid busy day…_

He had talked at length about his perfect date who reportedly made the best fried chicken in the world to his colleagues, hoping they would cut him some slack. Still, that didn’t stop the work from coming, and his presence was really needed. Luckily for him, things got a lot calmer later on, and he managed to leave not too long after the time he had planned.

He sent a message to say that he was on his way, made a quick stop at his place to change and grab his gifts as well as the Christmas shortcake he had promised to bring, and he set off to the Iwais soon after, waltzing his way through the couples. For once, he didn’t give a damn about them and their boring dates, because he had places to go, people to see, and he was going to have an amazing evening.

This was going to be good, he thought, humming to himself as he rang the bell.

To his surprise, for once, Mune was the one who greeted him at the door, closely followed by Kaoru.

“Hi Tohru-san!” the kid exclaimed happily.

He had been calling him by his first name for a little while now, after a memorable accident where he used it by mistake and then felt so embarrassed about it that he had run to hide behind his dad. Tohru didn’t mind though. To be honest, he really liked it, so he told the boy that he could call him that from now on. Given how easy the transition was, the sergeant suspected that Kaoru had been using this name in his head for a while now.

“You’re late,” Mune commented as he took his winter coat.

“Crime doesn’t stop on Christmas Eve,” Tohru said mockingly, parroting the other’s excuse.

He took off his shoes, smiling when he heard a grumpy huff behind him, and asked:

“Since you’re here, I take it that the food is ready? Am I that late?”

“Not really. Everything is ready, but I’ll fry it last minute. I just thought we could wait a bit for once. After all, it’s kind of a special occasion.”

That last comment made the sergeant smile.

They stayed together in the living room for a while, until Mune got up and announced that he’d take care of the food.

“I’ll handle it. You two just stay here and have fun,” he said before he left.

_Classic Mune. He was probably going to wear his apron because of the oil splatter, and he didn’t want to be seen in it._

Resisting the urge to ignore the man’s words and waltz into the kitchen when he expected it the least, Tohru focused his attention on Kaoru, who was now staring at him with a serious expression. He looked like he wanted to tell him something.

“Tohru-san, did you dress up?” he asked suddenly, not losing his thoughtful gaze.

That seemed to take his friend by surprise, and Kaoru regretted his question. He didn’t want to sound mean, he was just curious. Tohru was wearing this red and white sweater that was clearly Christmas-themed (which he found really cool), but something was bothering him.

“I… I guess I did?” the man replied with a nervous laugh.

 “But your hair is still all messy,” he remarked.

Now, the other looked very embarrassed, and he quickly put a hand in his hair to try and flatten it a little.

“I’ll help you,” Kaoru then offered. After all, it had been his point all along.

“Thanks,” Tohru said with a grateful look, lowering his hand to let him take care of his many cowlicks and wild locks.

The boy was a bit hesitant at first, but he soon forgot about it as he focused on his task and started explaining how he helped his dad with dinner. As he tried to tame one of the most rebellious locks, he finally understood why the man’s hair was so messy all the time: it never stayed in the right place for long.

After a tough fight, Kaoru finally managed to put it in an acceptable and stable state, and he took a step back to admire the result. He then nodded in approval, and announced proudly that he was done.

“Thank you. Let’s hope your dad will be back to see it before it starts getting messy again,” Tohru declared with a grateful nod, which started undoing his helper’s work already.

By luck, just as the other said that, his father came back with a big plate of fried chicken in hands. He put it on the table, and Kaoru couldn’t help but say:

“Dad, look at Tohru-san. Doesn’t he look great now?”

“Oh, you’re right,” he replied with a half-smile. “Did you do that?”

“Yeah!” he nodded happily.

“Well, that’s just perfect!” his dad said before he ruffled their hair without warning.

“Dad!” Kaoru complained loudly, trying to make him stop.

He was laughing, though. They both were.

Mune stopped soon after and took a look at his two victims. Tohru looked exactly like before he left the room, and Kaoru’s hair was already starting to fall back in place. His father knew from experience that in a few minutes, it would look perfectly neat again, as if it had never been messed with in the first place. In a way, it was the perfect opposite of Tohru's.

“It’s better like this,” he declared with a smug smile.

The way his guest stopped trying to flatten his locks as soon as he heard that didn’t go unnoticed.

“Now, I hope you’re hungry,” he said as he sat down at the table.

Kaoru was right, Tohru thought as he started eating. Mune really made the best fried chicken! The outside was crispy, and the meat inside was soft and juicy. There were a few spices that the cop didn’t recognize, but they took the whole dish to new heights! It was so tasty that even though he didn’t care what he ate most of the time, Tohru could have written a whole article on how delicious it was.

The food soon disappeared, not a single crumb left on their plates. Then, they decided to bring out the Christmas cake and exchange gifts while they ate it.

Kaoru got the game he had asked for, plus a video game from the sergeant. As for the two adults, it seemed that they had similar ideas: Mune got a bento cookbook—bought on Kaoru’s advice because his father apparently complained a lot about not knowing what to make—and even though Tohru couldn’t open his gift yet, the amused look in the other’s eyes told him that it was an apron.

Whatever made him happy, he thought. He’d see who would laugh next time he’d invite him over to his place, wearing nothing but the apron. He smiled at the idea before going back to his cake.

Kaoru went to bed soon after, visibly exhausted since it was way past his usual bedtime already.

“Want some tea?” Mune offered after his kid left.

Tohru hummed lazily.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“Won’t I miss the last train by the time we’re done drinking? I know there’s still time, but…”

The retailer sighed. It was Christmas after all. He could make an exception.

“You can stay if you want,” he announced.

_Oh, how he loved seeing Tohru’s face brighten like that…_

“You’re officially sleeping on the couch though,” he added before the other got the wrong idea.

“Tea sounds great, then,” he declared with a pleased smile.

They followed their usual routine, settling on the couch with their drinks in hand. The atmosphere was all nice and cozy, but Tohru felt a tinge of excitement at the prospect of spending the night here. He didn’t know what he was planning to do exactly, or even what Mune himself had in mind, but that wasn’t the most important part anyway. He’d be happy to play chess all night if that meant staying.

“By the way, I’ve got something for you,” the other man said suddenly.

He got up to fetch something and handed him a medium sized box.

“You can open it now. Or… I’d rather you opened it now, in case you’d like something changed,” he explained with a rather embarrassed and really cute look.

Tohru nodded and opened it to find the most beautiful and realistic replica of his service gun he had ever seen. Even the weight was right! Everything was, down to the last detail. He took it gently, entranced by it, and noticed a tiny difference between the two: there was a small gecko engraved on the grip. Given what the symbol meant to Mune, this little addition increased the value and thoughtfulness of the gift tenfold. At least.

“It’s perfect,” he whispered, tearing up a little.

“Glad you like it,” Mune replied easily.

Regaining countenance, Tohru carefully put his gift back in its box and cleared his throat before admitting:

“I have something for you too. It’s not much though.”

He searched his pocket and handed him a tiny package, containing a small notebook. The other opened it, and his expression became extremely … neutral.

“A collection of pickup lines, huh,” he said wryly. “I thought you were done with this.”

“I figured you might miss them,” the sergeant explained with a grin.

Mune stifled a laugh.

“You’re an idiot.”

He leaned in to kiss him gently, and Tohru assumed from it that he really liked it. He still felt like his gift was nothing compared to the absolute beauty he’d been given, but it was the intention that counted, right? In any case, he’d do better next time.

When they broke the kiss, Mune leaned even further and whispered in his ear with that perfect, low and raspy voice of his:

“Finish your tea quickly and we can move somewhere you’re more needed.”

That made the sergeant shiver in anticipation, and he gulped down the rest of his tea before setting his gift aside to get up.

Mune chuckled as he saw that.

“Good. Now follow me,” he said as he grabbed the empty cups and walked toward the kitchen.

Tohru hesitated, and the retailer turned around with a shit eating grin to declare:

“Something wrong? The dishes won’t wash themselves, you know.”

The other man looked absolutely miserable for a second, and Mune laughed as he went in to start cleaning up. He heard grumbles behind him, but his guest still followed and helped him with the task without complaining.

Once they were done, the host took out a blanket and a pillow from a closet and put them on the couch. He then laid down under the cover to make the whole setting look more realistic, and when he got up and set it aside, he noticed the younger man’s shocked expression.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Tohru snapped back to reality and shook his head. For a moment, he really thought that Mune was going to sleep on the couch while he got the bed, and the entire sleeping with him was a joke. He had almost started screaming.

“I just thought you were going to sleep here for a sec,” he explained.

“Come on, I’m a man of my word,” the retailer said with a mocking smile, ruffling his hair as he walked toward the door of his room, inviting Tohru in.

“You’re also a damn tease,” the cop muttered, which amused the other even more.

Mune turned to him after he closed the door and kissed him in a way more passionate and thorough manner than earlier. There were remnants of the taste of cake and tea on his tongue, which Tohru decided fitted him well. Not as much as the crazy sweetness and chemical flavors of his lollipops, but that was still a very nice mix.

He slipped his hands under the fabric of the other’s turtleneck, which was soon dropped to the floor, giving him a lot more skin to play with. If there was something he loved, it was how warm Mune always was despite the numerous cold nicknames the cop had given him during the first few months he’d known him. That, and how toned his body was for someone who had “given up in many ways,” to quote the retailer’s own words.

They flopped on the bed, and Tohru was very pleased with the fact that he had managed to stay on top this time. He pressed one of his legs against the other’s groin, making him groan. Mune then grabbed his hips and pulled him down to do the same, smiling at his tiny revenge.

Feeling how insistent the man’s hands were on his torso, Tohru got up to get rid of his sweater, along with the shirt that was under it.

“That’s better,” Mune remarked with a mocking smile.

“Was there something wrong with it?”

“I know that deep down, you’re very romantic,” he explained, chuckling when Tohru huffed at the comment, “but a Christmas sweater, really?”

“Well, I’m glad you like it, because I’m making you wear one next year,” the cop grinned.

“As if I’d do that.”

“You will. You know how persistent I am! And I have a whole year to convince you. It’ll be a piece of cake!”

_How hard could it be compared to all the efforts he had to make to be in this bed right now?_

As he thought that, Tohru dived right on the retailer's neck. Knowing that the gecko tattoo was a bit like the X mark on a treasure map for him, he started licking it, using only the tip of his tongue before he let his teeth scrape against his skin lightly. Satisfied with the heavy breathing he heard as a result, he started focusing on a slightly lower place while he undid the buckle of the man’s belt, unzipping his pants to grab his growing erection through the underwear.

“Tohru,” Mune warned with a frown.

“What? You’re silent right?” he said with an innocent look as he kept stroking him.

He pulled down the fabric to free his hardened member until Mune’s hand stopped him.

“I said stop. We’re not doing this.”

“But you said I could stay,” he whined.

The other sighed and let go of Tohru’s hand. The sergeant thought for a second that it meant he could resume his activities, but he was soon proved wrong when Mune reversed their positions easily, in an unfair display of his greater strength.

“That doesn’t mean we should have sex. Kaoru is still around.”

“We can stay silent,” Tohru argued as he tried to go for the other’s crotch again.

He only managed to end up with his hands pinned above his head in another unfair display of strength. Then, Mune bent down and nipped his ear before saying in a caressing whisper:

“If you behave tonight, you can stay over for New Year’s.”

_If the guy wanted him to calm down, maybe he should stop with the dirty talk already._

“Fine,” he still said as he stopped struggling. “How about we don’t go all the way then?”

“You’re impossible,” Mune sighed.

Tohru still managed to at least have that, and he decided that it would be enough for this time. After all, he had promised to behave. Before he fell asleep, he still couldn’t help but ask:

“You were serious about New Year?”

“Sure. It’ll be easier to clean the place if we’re three,” Mune shrugged.

The cop could hear the guy’s grin. He should have expected that… The reply made him happy, anyway. He still grumbled to keep up appearances, and smiled when the other chuckled and ruffled his hair affectionately.

He’d never really liked cleaning, but he was still looking forward to it. Anything for his family, he thought.

_... Did he really think family?_

Maybe he meant it, actually, he realized as he slowly drifted to sleep.

.

Waking up early was one of the things Tohru hated the most, besides other people. However, this time, he barely complained when Mune shook him lightly and told him to get up before Kaoru went out of his room. He had to work this morning anyway, he reminded himself as he mustered his will to sit up and yawned.

“Can I have a kiss first?” the cop then asked with a groggy voice.

“Once you’re ready,” the other replied with a tiny smile.

“But Kaoru may be up by then,” he countered.

Mune sighed before complying, not letting it last too long before he retreated and told him to get up now. Tohru pouted, which combined with his sleepy eyes and bedhead was an amazing sight, and he finally got up and retrieved his clothes.

“You can use the shower while I take care of breakfast,” the retailer announced before explaining where everything was.

“Thanks. I’ll have to stop at my flat anyway, but a shower sounds great.”

He then left the room, walking like a freshly raised zombie, and Mune looked at him go before he went to the kitchen. As he grabbed everything they would need, he heard a door opening and tiny footsteps walking slowly to the living room. They stopped for a few seconds and then rushed toward him as Kaoru burst inside the kitchen, asking excitedly:

“Is Tohru-san still here?”

His father smiled. He had expected a reaction like this, but maybe not this much.

“Yeah, we were careless yesterday so he missed the last train. He’ll leave after breakfast though; he still has to work this morning.”

His kid grinned and seemed ready to run to their guest until he heard the sound of the shower. That made him change his mind, and he settled instead for helping get breakfast ready.

Tohru walked out of the bathroom, feeling slightly refreshed but not quite awake yet. He needed something to eat before he was fully functional. Good thing that Mune seemed to be done with breakfast already.

The sergeant walked into the room and stared at the food on the table with wide eyes. Compared to what he was used to—namely a plain toast on the good days, and a glass of water on the bad ones—the breakfast before him looked like a feast.

He then noticed that Kaoru was here too, and he greeted him with a smile. The kid seemed really happy to see him, and it warmed his heart even more than the hearty food displayed in front of him.

Mune told him to help himself, and Tohru sat down before he started eating quietly, only replying to Kaoru’s questions as he finished waking up slowly to the sound of the two telling each other about their plans for the day.

It was a little known fact that Tohru Adachi liked guns more than people, and he wasn’t going to admit it to anyone who might have guessed. However, as he watched father and son eating and talking casually across the table, he was sure of one thing: he liked these two people—his new family—a lot more than any gun in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, everything is cute and beautiful and I'm just so happy that they're so happy!
> 
> Like I said last time though, there is a part 2, following the events from Persona 4. You don't have to read it, and if I were you, I'd just stop at the cute end because trust me, things are only going down from there... (become a marketing specialist with Milligramme!)  
> The first chapter should be online in 2-3 weeks.
> 
> For now, I'd like to thank everyone who's read this story! I was pretty sure that no one would ever read it, since it's about such a rare pair that I had to start the tag myself, and I'm so glad that you proved me wrong! A special thank you to my betas Akaicchi and Rawen (who also did special shitposts for this story, and I'm both proud and horrified by them), and to sendgays, who never failed to leave a comment (I know I say it a lot but they truly warm my heart!).  
> I hope to see you all for Ace Defective, the thrilling sequel! (but if not I'd understand :p)


End file.
